DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

VISAKHAPATNAM, A.P., INDIA

PROJECT TITLE
DURKHEIMS SOCIAL FACT ANOMIE OF SUICIDE

SUBJECT
SOCIOLOGY

NAME OF THE FACULTY

LAKSHMIPATHI RAJU

M.KRISHNA KOUSIKI
2 ND SEMESTER, 2014065
SECTION - A

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.

INTRODUCTION

2. THEORY ON SOCIAL FACTS

3. ANOMIE
4. SOME ACTS RELATING TO ANOMIE
5. SUICIDE

6. TYPES OF SUICIDE
7. SUICIDE LAW IN INDIA SECTION 309 IPC
8. LEGAL STATUS OF ATTEMPTED SUICIDE: A REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL
SCENARIO
9. CONCLUSION
10. BIBILOGRAPHY

CERTIFICATE
2

TITLE OF SUBJECT: SOCIOLOGY

NAME OF FACULTY: LAKSHMIPATHI RAJU

I KRISHNA KOUSIKI hereby declares that this project case study: DURKHEIMS
SOCIAL FACT ANOMIE OF SUICIDE. Submitted by me is an original work undertaken by
me. I have duly acknowledged all the sources from which the ideas and extracts have been taken.
The project is free from any plagiarism issue.

PLACE: Vishakhapatnam.
(Signature of the student)
Roll no: 2014065
Semester-2
Section-A

DAVID EMILE DURKHEIM1:

David mile Durkheim (April 15, 1858 November 15, 1917) was a French sociologist, social
psychologist and philosopher. He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl

1 http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/o26f99.htm ,10/2/2015, 2:00PM.

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Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and
father of sociology.
Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain their integrity and
coherence in modernity; an era in which traditional social and religious ties are no longer
assumed, and in which new social institutions have come into being. His first major sociological
work was The Division of Labor in Society (1893). In 1895, he published The Rules of
Sociological Method and set up the first European department of sociology, becoming France's
first professor of sociology. In 1898, he established the journalL'Anne Sociologique. Durkheim's
seminal monograph, Suicide (1897), a study of suicide rates in Catholic and Protestant
populations, pioneered modern social research and served to distinguish social science from
psychology and political philosophy. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912)
presented a theory of religion, comparing the social and cultural lives of aboriginal and modern
societies.
Durkheim was also deeply preoccupied with the acceptance of sociology as a legitimate science.
He refined the positivism originally set forth by Auguste Comte, promoting what could be
considered as a form of epistemological realism, as well as the use of the hypothetic deductive
model in social science. For him, sociology was the science of institutions, if this term is
understood in its broader meaning as "beliefs and modes of behavior instituted by the
collectivity" and its aim being to discover structural social facts. Durkheim was a major
proponent of structural functionalism, a foundational perspective in both sociology
and anthropology. In his view, social science should be purely holistic; that is, sociology should
study phenomena attributed to society at large, rather than being limited to the specific actions of
individuals.

THEORY ON SOCIAL FACTS 2

2https://www.google.co.in/search?

q=DURKHEIM+SOCIAL+FACT+ANOMY+OF+SUCIDE&oq=DURKHEIM, 10/2/2015,
4

Durkheim defined social facts as things external to, and coercive of, the actor. These are created
from collective forces and do not emanate from the individual. While they may not seem to be
observable, social facts are things, and "are to be studied empirically, not philosophically". They
cannot be deduced from pure reason or thought, but require a study of history and society in
order to observe their effects and understand the nature of these social facts.
While obligations, values, attitudes, and beliefs may appear to be individual, Durkheim argues
that these social facts exist at the level of society as a whole, arising from social relationships and
human association. They exist as a result of social interactions and historical developments over
long periods of time, and come from "varying collective representations and diverse forms of
social organization" As individuals who are born and raised in a society, these social facts are
learned (through socialization) and generally accepted, but the individual has nothing to do with
establishing these.
Each social fact is real, something that is constraining on the individual and external to the actor.
The social fact is not just in the mind of the individual that is, these facts are more than
psychological facts. That these exist in society as a whole, over time, and sometimes across
societies, provides some proof of this. At the same time they are in the minds of individuals so
they are also mental states. Ritzer notes that social facts can be considered to be mental
phenomena that are external to and coercive of psychological facts, such as human instincts. The
individual mental state could be considered to intervene between social fact and action (Ritzer, p.
105). Durkheim may not have provided a sufficient analysis of the assumptions underlying, or
the characteristics of, these mental states. For Durkheim the study of sociology should be the
study of social facts, attempting to find the causes of social facts and the functions of these social
facts.
Social facts regulate human social action and act as constraints over individual behavior and
action. They may be enforced with law, with clearly defined penalties associated with violation
of the sentiments and values of the group. Sanctions may be associated with social facts, for
example as in religion, where resistance may result in disapproval from others or from spiritual
2:00PM.

leaders. Individuals may be unaware of social facts and generally accept them. In this case,
individuals may accept the values and codes of society and accept them as their own.
Two types of social facts are material and non-material social facts. Material social facts are
features of society such as social structures and institutions. These could be the system of law,
the economy, church and many aspects of religion, the state, and educational institutions and
structures. They could also include features such as channels of communication, urban structures,
and population distribution. While these are important for understanding the structures and form
of interaction in any society, it is nonmaterial social facts that constitute the main subject of
study of sociology.
Nonmaterial social facts are social facts which do not have a material reality. They consist of
features such as norms, values, and systems of morality. Some contemporary examples are the
norm of the one to three child family, the positive values associated with family structures, and
the negative associations connected to aggression and anger. In Durkheim's terminology, some of
these nonmaterial social facts are morality, collective consciousness, and social currents.
ANOMIE3
Through the book The Division of Labor in Society, Durkheim coined the phrase anomie.
Anomie is a term describing social disorder. In a society where it is unknown what expected
behavior is, criminal activity can result because of lack of knowledge or expectations. Durkheim
proposed that individuals lead to anomie in industrialized societies that contain social hierarchies
based on economic or relational merit. It is in these societies that crime and deviant behavior is
increased. Durkheim also used the term anomie in his studies of suicidal behavior.

Anomie: An introduction to the concept and a description of its use in Durkheims literary
works.

Sociological Anomie: A description of the hypothesis of anomie and its use in

sociological work.

3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomie , 10/2/2015, 2:00PM.

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Suicide: Durkheim and Anomie: The fundamental principles of Durkheims theory of

suicide and anomie.

Functionalism, Anomie, Religion: A discussion of the different components of

Durkheims methods.

The Anomie Tradition: An explanation of deviant behavior from Durkheims theories.

Durkheim and the Philosophy of Causation: An extensive study of the methods of

Durkheim and the applications to sociological thought.

Strain Theories of Crime: Relating Durkheims theories to criminal behavior.

SUICIDE4
After Durkheim wrote The Rules of Sociological Method, he tackled the subject of suicide as an
example of how a sociologist can study a subject that seems extremely personal, with no social
aspect to it even being anti-social. It could be argued that suicide is such a personal act that it
involves only personal psychology and purely individual thought processes. Durkheim's aim was
not to explain or predict an individual tendency to suicide, but to explain one type of nonmaterial
social facts, social currents. Social currents are characteristics of society, but may not have the
permanence and stability that some parts of collective consciousness or collective representation
have. They may be associated with movements such as "enthusiasm, indignation, and pity." notes
that Durkheim wished to show that sociological factors were "capable of explaining much about
such anti-social phenomena" .
In the case of suicide, these social currents are expressed as suicide rates, rates that differ among
societies, and among different groups in society. These rates show regularities over time, with
changes in the rates often occurring at similar times in different societies. Thus these rates can be
4 http://www.nyu.edu/classes/jackson/calhoun.jackson.theory/papers/A--DurkheimSuicide.pdf,

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said to be social facts (or at least the statistical representation of social facts) in the sense that
they are not just personal, but are societal characteristics.
Durkheim takes up the analysis of suicide in a very quantitative and statistical manner. While he
did not have available to him very precise or complete data or sophisticated statistical
techniques, his method is exemplary in showing how to test hypotheses, reject incorrect
explanations for suicide, sort through a great variety of possible explanations, and attempt to
control for extraneous factors. Some of the factors that others had used to explain suicide were
heredity, climate, race, individual psychopathic states (mental illness), and imitation.
In 1897, Durkheim published another literary work after his studies about suicidal behavior. The
book, Suicide, discussed the role of anomie in terms of these actions. Durkheim proposed again
that anomie, or a state where social norms were unknown or not expected, led to suicide of
individuals. The state of anomie does not allow a person to propose objectives for him or herself,
leading to a state of unhappiness that cannot be corrected. This unhappiness then leads to suicide
for many. Societies need social order to exist to be able to set goals and maintain an awareness of
proper behavior. The concept of anomie and Durkheims studies of suicide have influenced
further generations of sociologists and future work in the field of social science.

The Limits of Social Capital: A research article from the American Journal of Public
Health referencing Durkheims work on social norms today.

Suicide: A discussion of suicidal behavior reinforcing Durkheims concepts.

mile Durkheim on Suicide: A background about Durkheim and his hypotheses about
suicidal behavior.

Anomic Suicide: An outline relating the theory of anomie to suicidal behavior.

Suicide and Mental Health Association: A description of anomic suicide.

Social Facts and Suicide: A lecture about Durkheims theories related to suicide.

mile Durkheim wrote volumes and lectured about ideas that focused on social behavior and its
impact on societies as a whole. The concepts that he introduced were ahead of his time. His
forward thinking led to advancing secondary curriculum to include social sciences and his work
has been used as a model for current sociological thought toward problem solving in society.
In order to test his theory he studied suicide rates across time and place (throughout Europe,
spanning many years). Once he had completed his preliminary research and analyses, he came
to the conclusion that, despite major differences in suicide rates between individual societies,
rates within a society remained stable over time.

Distribution of the Different Kinds of Death Among 1,000 Suicides (Both Sexes Combined)
Countrie

Years

France
France
France
France
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
Prussia
England
England
England
England
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy

Strangulatio
n

1872
1873
1874
1875
1872
1873
1874
1875
1872
1873
1874
1875
1872
1873
1874
1875

Drownin

and g

Fire-

Leaping Poison

arms

from a

Hanging

High

426
430
440
446
610
597
610
615
374
366
374
362
174
173
125
176

Spot
28
30
28
31
6.9
8.4
9.1
9.5
30
20
20

106
104
113
111

269
298
269
294
197
217
162
170
221
218
176
208
305
273
246
299

103
106
122
107
102
95
126
105
38
44
58
45
236
251
285
238

20
21
23
19
25
25
28
35
91
97
94
97
60
62
69
55

Asphyxiation

69
67
72
63
3
4.6
6.5
7.7

13.7
31.4
29
22

By looking at this table of "Suicide" we can see that over the years, each type of suicide has a
relatively stable rate in each place. The numbers may vary across the places, but for each locale,
there is consistency.
Durkheim then proceeded to theorize three different types of suicide that are found in all
societies. These include:
1)

Egoistic suicide, which results from lack of integration of the individual into
society. This means that a person is not included in many things that happen in
society, they feel unattached, helpless and useless. Due to these feelings of
inadequacy, the person takes his of her own life.

2)

Altruistic suicide it results from the individuals taking his own life because of
higher commandments. This means that the individual feels that something larger
than himself is causing him to take his own life, such as religious Martyrs or suicide
bombers.

3)

Anomic suicide which results from lack of regulation of the individual by society.
This means that the society is going through some sort of change, where the rules of
the society are not as clear as they were. The individual feels confused and does not
know how to handle the major changes occurring around him/herself, and thus
commits suicide.

The relevance of Durkheims Suicide Theory on sociology is seen very well through a series of
quotes from the editor/translator:his work on suicide remains the prototype of systematic,
rigorous and unrelenting attack on the subject with the data, techniques, and accumulated
knowledge available at any given period. Le Suicide is among the first modern examples of
consistent and organized use of statistical method in social investigation. Durkheim is seeking
to establish that what looks like a highly individual and personal phenomenon is explicable
through the social structure and its ramifying functions.

10

TYPES OF SUICIDE5
The manner in which social integration and regulation work can be better seen by examining the
four fold classification of suicides that Durkheim developed. Durkheim ends his discussion of
the organic-psychic and physical environmental factors by concluding that they cannot explain
"each social group[s] ... specific tendency to suicide." By eliminating other explanations,
Durkheim claims that these tendencies must depend on social causes and must be collective
phenomena. The key to each type is a social factor, with the degrees of integration and regulation
into society being either too high or too low.

1. EGOISTIC SUICIDE:
This is the type of suicide that occurs where the degree of social integration is low, and there is a
sense of meaningless among individuals. In traditional societies, with mechanical solidarity, this
is not likely to be the cause of suicide. There the strong collective consciousness gives people a
broad sense of meaning to their lives. Within modern society, the weaker collective
consciousness means that people may not see the same meaning in their lives, and unrestrained
pursuit of individual interests may lead to strong dissatisfaction. One of the results of this can be
suicide. Individuals who are strongly integrated into a family structure, a religious group, or
some other type of integrative group are less likely to encounter these problems, and that
explains the lower suicide rates among them.
The factors leading to egoistic suicide can be social currents such as depression and
disillusionment. For Durkheim, these are social forces or social facts, even though it is the
depressed or melancholy individual who takes his or her life voluntarily. "Actors are never free
of the force of the collectivity: 'However individualized a man may be, there is always something
5 http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/o26f99.htm , 10/2/2015, 2;30PM.
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collective remaining the very depression and melancholy resulting from this same exaggerated
individualism.'" Also, on Suicide, Durkheim says "Thence are formed currents of depression and
disillusionment emanating from no particular individual but expressing society's state of
disillusionment." Durkheim notes that "the bond attaching man to life relaxes because that
attaching him to society is itself slack. ... The individual yields to the slightest shock of
circumstance because the state of society has made him a ready prey to suicide
2. ALTRUISTIC SUICIDE6:
This is the type of suicide that occurs when integration is too great, the collective consciousness
too strong, and the "individual is forced into committing suicide." Integration may not be the
direct cause of suicide here, but the social currents that go along with this very high degree of
integration can lead to this. The followers of Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple or the members of
the Solar Temple are an example of this, as are ritual suicides in Japan. Ritzer notes that some
may "feel it is their duty" to commit suicide. Examples in primitive society cited by Durkheim
are suicides of those who are old and sick, suicides of women following the death of their
husband, and suicides of followers after the death of a chief. According to Durkheim this type of
suicide may actually "springs from hope, for it depends on the belief in beautiful perspectives
beyond this life."
3. ANOMIC SUICIDE7:
Anomie or anomy comes from the Greek meaning lawlessness. Nomos means usage, custom, or
law and nemein means to distribute. Anomy thus is social instability resulting from breakdown of
standards and values.
This is a type of suicide related to too low a degree of regulation, or external constraint on
people. As with the anomic division of labour, this can occur when the normal form of the
division of labour is disrupted, and "the collectivity is temporarily incapable of exercising its
authority over individuals." This can occur either during periods associated with economic
6 http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/o26f99.htm , 10/2/2015, 2;30PM.
7.
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depression (stock market crash of the 1930s) or over-rapid economic expansion. New situations
with few norms, the regulative effect of structures are weakened, and the individual may feel
rootless. In this situation, an individual may be subject to anomic social currents. People that are
freed from constraints become "slaves to their passions, and as a result, according to Durkheim's
view, commit a wide range of destructive acts, including killing themselves in greater numbers
than they ordinarily would." In addition to economic anomie, Durkheim also spends time
examining domestic anomie. For example, suicides of family members may occur after the death
of a husband or wife.
4. FATALISTIC SUICIDE8:
When regulation is too strong, Durkheim considers the possibility that "persons with futures
pitilessly blocked and passions violently choked by oppressive discipline" may see no way out.
The individual sees no possible manner in which their lives can be improved, and when in a state
of melancholy, may be subject to social currents of fatalistic suicide.
SUICIDE LAW IN INDIA SECTION 309 IPC
"When life is so burdensome, death has become for man a sought-after refuge" - Herodotus
"Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem" - Common adage Both these sayings
reflect the two faces of a popular affliction- 'suicide'; something which is know to every Indian.
India is witness to many reasons of suicide ranging from victims of domestic violence, jilted
lovers to farmer's suicide. As per a study, of every five lacs suicides reported worldwide, one
lakh suicides are from India. Though India ranks 43rd in the WHO ranking of suicides per
100000 people, the rate (10.3%) is increasing and remains above the world rate. Poisoning,
hanging and self-immolation were the top common methods used to commit suicide. India sees a
north-south divide here as well with South Indians accounting for a rate above 15 and North
Indians below 3. Most of the suicides are, alarmingly enough, committed by mature youth unable
to cope up with the ever growing modern demands of life. About 40% suicides are reported at the
age group below 30 year and 70% below 40 years. This impacts their family and immediate
society both financially and emotionally. Legal Angle Suicide is a criminal offence under Section
8 http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/o26f99.htm , 10/2/2015, 2;30PM
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309 of the IPC with a punishment of up to one year in jail and a fine. The section reads: Whoever
attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be
punished with simple imprisonment for term which may extend to one year or with fine, or with
both. The offence is bailable, non-compoundable and triable by any Magistrate. Definition of
Suicide As per Concise Oxford Dictionary, 9th Edition, p. 1393, Suicide is defined as 'the
intentional killing of oneself.' As per Halsburys Laws of England, 4th Edition, Volume 9, Page
686, suicide is referred to "every act of self destruction is, in common language described by the
word suicide provided it is an intentional act of a party knowing the probable consequence of
what he is about." Suicide is never to be presumed. Intention is the essential legal ingredient. A
finding of suicide must be on evidence of intention. A person who jumps into a well in order to
avoid and escape from her husband and subsequently comes out of the well herself, cannot be
convicted under this section if there is no evidence to show that she wanted to commit suicide 9;
Emperor v. Dhirajia, AIR 1940 All 486. Attempt to Suicide and Legal Consequences.
Many instances of failed suicide attempts have revealed an utter lack of criminal intent or any
pre-meditated motive. Most of the times, it simply turns out to be frustration / anger / pain
against someone or something which make a person take his own life. The so called "criminal
intent" is often lacking and hard to attribute unless the person dying would have planned to
benefit somehow or someone. Which again would be a "rarest of rare case". It has been found
that in most cases of attempted suicide, the mental state of the person can be counseled back to
normal. So it ends up something like this- one cannot be punished if he succeeds in his attempt to
take his life and will have to face penal action if he fails! It was felt that people who attempted
suicide were largely victims of mental depression. Many of the reasons for committing suicide
such as depression, emotional pain, or economic hardship are transitory and can be made better
by therapy and through making changes to some aspects of one's life. Proper care and counseling
of such persons can actually save them from taking this drastic step. The government feels that
there is a 'need to care an not punish such people' and will soon be tabling a bill "Mental Health
Care Bill 2012" in this regard. Right to Die Suicide has often attracted highly polarized views.
On one hand many have argued that they have been guaranteed a right to life under Article 14
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and 21 of the constitution, on the other hand the right to take ones life has been labeled as a
criminal act affecting many other people around the deceased. One camp believes that punishing
someone under Section 309 who attempted suicide is both illogical and insensitive, as what he
needs at that instant is immediate care and counsel and not being ferried away by police. The
Supreme Court has set aside its earlier judgment in P. Rathi / Nagbhushan Patnaik v. Union of
India, JT 1994 (3) SC 392, wherein the Court had struck down section 309 as
unconstitutional*al. It has said that, "in a country where one-half of their population still live
below the poverty line, the right to die by suicide cannot be granted to any person. Article 21 of
the Constitution, which gives right to life and personal liberty, by no stretch of imagination can
be said to impliedly include right to death by committing suicide. The section is also not
violative of article 14. There is no requirement of awarding any minimum sentence. The sentence
of imprisonment or fine is not compulsory but dis*cretionary"[Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab, JT
1996 (3) SC 339.] However, lately the apex court feels that there is a need to decriminalize
section 309.
Abetment of Attempt to Commit Suicide10. However, where does this place someone who
supports or abets a suicide? Abetment of suicide is again a criminal act under Section 306 of IPC
attracting even larger penal action; an imprisonment that may extend to ten years. Section 306
dealing with abetment of suicide states:
"If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also
be liable to fine."The basic constituents of an offence under section 306 are:

Suicidal death

Abetment thereof

Intention of the accused to aid or instigate or abet the deceased to commit suicide is
necessary
[Pallem Deniel Victoralions Victor Manter v. State of Andhra Pradesh, (1997) 1 Crimes 499
(AP), Sangarabonia Sreenu v. State of Andhra Pradesh, (1997) 4 Supreme 214.] A wider net of
responsibility is cast on the people near and dear to person who attempts suicide to guide him,
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support him and wean him away to brighter aspects of life. Instead when he eggs on the person
to take his life, he is supposed to be a partnering a crime and worse still, shirking away from his
powers to stop the act and being a ringside viewer. Current Update - New Mental Health Care
Bill 2012 With the new Mental Health Care Bill 2012 to be tabled in coming session of
parliament, the Union health ministry is pushing to decriminalize the act of attempting suicide,
which currently is an offence under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Attempt to
suicide is an offence under Section 309 IPC attracting a simple imprisonment for a year or fine,
both. Though a Bill in this regard was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 1972 to de-criminalise
the provision, it was not ratified by the Lok Sabha as the House was dissolved in 1979 when the
Bill

was

pending

there

for

consideration

and

the

Bill

had

lapsed.

It will be significant to note that the Centre had earlier rejected the 2008 report of the Law
Commission,

which

favoured

scrapping

of

Section

309

of

the

IPC.

It its 210th report on Humanisation and Decriminalisation of Attempt to Suicide, the

Commission had said: It would not be just and fair to inflict additional legal punishment on a
person who has already suffered agony and ignominy in his failure to commit suicide When a
troubled individual tries to end his life, it would be cruel to visit him with punishment on his
failure to die.Terming the provision as inhuman, the commission had said repeal of the
anachronistic law would save many lives and relieve the distressed of his sufferings", it added.
The Supreme Court has in its latest judgments taken a view in favour of decriminalization of this
issue. Hearing a petition in September, 2011 the apex court had recommended to Parliament to
consider decriminalizing attempt to suicide, saying the provision had become anachronistic.
A bench of justice Markandey Katju and justice Gyan Sudha Mishra, which legalised passive
euthanasia in India, said:"the time has come when it should be deleted by Parliament as it has
become anachronistic. The bench said: A person attempts suicide in a depression, and hence he
needs

help,

rather

than

punishment.

It was felt that people who attempted suicide 11 were largely victims of mental depression. Proper
care and counseling of such persons can actually save them from taking this drastic step. The
government feels that there is a 'need to care and not punish such people'.
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The new Mental Health Care Bill 2012, that is expected to be tabled in the winter session, aims
to do away any punishment for someone who attempted suicide.

LEGAL STATUS OF ATTEMPTED: INDIAN SCENARIO12

According to Article 21 of the Indian constitution, "No person shall be deprived of his life or
personal liberty except according to procedure established by the law". While the constitution
covers the right to life or liberty, it does not include the 'right to die'. The attempts at taking one's
own life are not considered to fall under purview of constitutional right to life.
Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) clearly states as follows: "Whoever attempts to
commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with
simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or both."
Several questions are raised in the context of section 309. First, it comes under the category of
crimes defined under Chapter XVI of Indian penal code. All other crimes in this category include
those committed to the 'human body of the other person' and suicidal attempt is clubbed with
them in same category of crimes. The act of attempted suicide is inferred on basis of intention,
which is inferred from circumstances. But the intention may be unclear or ambiguous in many
cases.
Delhi High court in a landmark judgment of 1985 had commented that "the continuance of
Section 309 I.P.C. (criminalizing suicide) is an anachronism unworthy of a human society like
ours." The Indian Penal Code had been formulated during British Raj Regime of 1860, and was
mainly governed by British law of that time. Ironically, India continues to follow the archaic law
even

though

Britain

itself

had

decriminalized

suicide

way

back

in

1961.

It is to be noted that the abetting of the commission of suicide (but not the abetting of attempt to
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commit suicide) is covered under Section 306 IPC and the abetment of suicide of a child is
covered under Section 305 IPC. The punishment for these varies from 1-10 years of
imprisonment and heavy fines. Repealing of Section 309, per se, would not affect or impact the
above sections on abetment of completed suicide.

LEGAL STATUS OF ATTEMPTED SUICIDE: A REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL

SCENARIO13

Much of the legal stance against suicide originated from the declaration by St. Augustine of
suicide being a sin (354-430 CE). Historically, the influence of religious institutions was
instrumental in shaping the legal stance favoring the criminalization of suicidal attempts. After
the French Revolution, along with other socio-cultural changes in Europe, the attitude towards
suicide and attempted suicide gradually started to change. During 19 th and 20 th century, most of
the developed countries have repealed criminalization of attempted suicide, but some countries
including
Countries

India,

continue
with

to

treat

suicidal

criminalization

attempt
of

as

criminal

attempted

offense.
suicide

In the African region, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana and Uganda are among
the countries that currently criminalize nonfatal suicidal behavior. For example, In Rwanda, a
person who engages in nonfatal suicidal behavior is liable, on conviction, to a 2-5 year prison
sentence. In Uganda, non-fatal suicidal behavior is a felony punishable by up to 2 years
imprisonment. In the South Asian region, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh are
among the countries that continue to criminalize the suicidal attempt. In Singapore, a person who
attempts suicide can be imprisoned for up to one year. Additionally, North Korea also
criminalizes suicide with a peculiar deterrent, where the family and relatives of the suicide
victim might be penalized as a form of collective punishment for the act of suicide.

13 http://www.industrialpsychiatry.org/article.asp?issn=0972-

6748;year=2014;volume=23;issue=1;spage=4;epage=9;aulast=Ranjan, 23/3/2015, 10:00am.

18

Countries

with

decriminalization

of

attempted

suicide

In the Australian state of Victoria, the survivor of a suicide pact can be charged with
manslaughter and abetting other person's suicide. In New Zealand, the abetment of the suicides
of others is a crime and similarly in Russia, inciting someone to suicide is punishable by up to 5
years in prison. Attempted suicide has been decriminalized in Ireland as early as 1993, but selfharm is not seen as a form of attempted suicide. Suicide and attempted suicide are not crimes
under the Roman-Dutch law. Some of the states (Alabama, Oregon and South Carolina) of U.S.
continue to have laws against suicide pacts, aiders and abettors, and for insurance purposes. Only
a few countries from South Asia, which include Srilanka, Indonesia, Maldives and Thailand do
not

treat

attempted

suicide

as

crime.

Currently, World Health Organization identified 59 countries across the world that have
decriminalized suicide. As seen from above, the attempted suicide has been decriminalized in
whole of Europe, North America, much of South America and few parts of Asia.
Decriminalization of suicidal attempt occurred relatively late in countries which were influenced
by the English common law. Similarly, the legal and coroners' involvement in suicide
certification tends to be much higher in these countries compared to the continental Europe and
Scandinavian region where doctors are allowed to certify suicidal deaths without recourse to
legal authorities

CONCLUSION14
In the end, Durkheim strives to account for a total sociology of knowledge. Society creates for
itself, through its representations collectives, a vast network of language and logical thought that
is instrumental in allowing its individuals to understand and think the world. And, since the
world exists only as far as it is thought, and since the world is totally thought only by society, the
world takes its shape in society. In other words, society establishes, from the outset, the limits of
possibility for rationality, linguistic expression, and knowledge in general. But if this is the
14 http://www.iep.utm.edu/durkheim/#SH3f , 3/3/2015, 7:11PM
19

best way to combat "corrosive individual egoism," it is also the best means
to combat anomie; for the same groups that re-integrate the individual into
social life can also serve to regulate his aspirations: "Whenever excited
appetites tended to exceed all limits," Durkheim explained, the corporation
would have to decide the share that should equitably revert to each of the
cooperative parts. Standing above its own members, it would have all
necessary authority to demand indispensable sacrifices and concessions and
impose order upon them.... Thus, a new sort of moral discipline would be
established, without which all the scientific discoveries and economic
progress in the world could produce only malcontents.
The pathological increase in suicides is thus a result of the "moral poverty" of our age, Durkheim
insisted, and a new moral discipline is required to cure it; but as always, he insisted that this
moral poverty itself had structural causes, and thus a reform of social structure (i.e.,
decentralized occupational groups) was required to relieve its most morbid symptoms.
BIBILOGRAPHY

Durkheim, Anthony Giddens, Harvester, 1978.

Emile Durkheim: Selected Writings, Emile Durkheim, Cambridge University Press,

1972.

Classical Sociological Theory, Craig Calhoun, John Wiley & Sons, 2012.

Suicide, John A. Spaulding, George Simpson, Emile Durkheim, Charles Press Pub, 1994.

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