Ghana has amended its law on the criminalization of attempted suicide. Parliament on Thursday, 30th March, 2023 brought an end to the long-standing debate on decriminalization with the passage of the new law. The new law will come into effect after the president assents his signature. The now-repealed law stated that “Whoever attempts to commit suicide shall be guilty of a misdemeanour” (The 1960 Criminal Code of Ghana Act 29, Section 57). Taking to his Facebook wall to announce his excitement, Prof. Joseph Osafo, a suicidologist at the University of Ghana highlighted that the fight to have the law repealed has taken over 15 years. He noted that he remains resolute in the fight for suicide prevention.
The main argument for the amendment of the law is to tackle the underlying psychological issues that lead people to commit suicide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), deaths caused by suicide are more than that by HIV, malaria or breast cancer. The current law was repealed because it created more problems than it prevented; individuals who attempted suicide could not seek professional psychological help for fear of being arrested. This then may lead to further attempts because the underlying problem has not been resolved. Now individuals and family members can freely seek help for their family members who might attempt suicide without any fear of being arrested.
Ghana has been making instrumental steps when it comes to mental health. In 2012 the Parliament of Ghana passed the Mental Health Act law to address mental health as a public health issue. Also in October 2022, the Ghana Association for Suicide Prevention was launched and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana together with a benevolent group based in the Netherlands for the first time built a Psychiatric Hospital the in the northern part of Ghana. This comes to supplement the mental health facilities in Ghana which are mostly situated in the southern part of the country.
Going forward, psychology and mental health should be integrated into the second-circle institutions. This will equip adolescents with tools to overcome mental health challenges.
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