Submitted on Monday 17th August 2015
Rejected on Thursday 27th August 2015
Current status: Rejected
Rejection code: irrelevant (see below for details)
Ban the outdated term 'committed suicide' in our language and dictionaries
Historically this term comes from the criminal system and in 1961 suicide was decriminalised. I have experienced first hand the stigma attached to this grief and the direct link with the term "committed suicide". You would not say that someone "committed cancer" but you would say "committed murder".
I work in Suffolk on behalf of the national charity "Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide". Survivors face many challenges during their grief including the stigma and shame still attached to suicide. Survivors are also at high risk of secondary suicides themselves. The term "committed suicide" gives oxygen to the small minority that believe suicide is an act of cowardice and permission to still abuse the survivor. Society should replace the term "committed suicide" with "died by suicide".
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The Government e-Petitions Team gave the following reason:
The UK Government is not responsible for the content of dictionaries.
This petitioner submitted a new petition, without reference to dictionaries, which was accepted: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/106754
3.21.231.245 Fri, 26 Apr 2024 16:26:12 +0100
