Quote:
Originally posted by taranaki
As far as I know,suicide is not illegal in N.Z., and even if it is,there can be no effective way of punishing a corpse.
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Actually, the Crimes Act specifically requires and empowers any person to do what is needful to prevent a suicide, or actions that would amount to suicide. I'm very bothered by the idea though, that in the US, people go to jail if they attempt suicide - I hope that';s not actually correct. Jail is no safe place; people suicide regularly in jail.
There are many many reasons for suicide, and there is no one solution, nor way to approach the problem (for example, someone in extreme pain from cancer, as opposed to someone after a relationship break-up. Although it also pays to remember that people who have experienced both the pain of cancer and that of major depression, find the depression to be worse). Some suicides absolutely should be prevented if at all possible. People suffering psychosis for example, have a very high rate of suicide, but very often this is based on the nature of their psychotic symptoms, and after they receive effective treatment, they no longer wish to be dead. Similarly in depression, though there are usually other factors influencing those that actually go as far as making an attempt.
Suicide has been very closely linked to social trends: during wars, the suicide rate drops, during economic depressions, it goes up. Largely, suicide is a social problem, with a vast number of determinants. Consequently it is very difficult to predict or prevent.
btw: with all the hoop-la about youth suicide, I wonder if anyone knows that the group in society with the highest rate of suicide (though of course not the highest absolute numbers) is men over 85. Younger men (15-25 odd) come way down the list as far as the actual rate of suicide goes.