Quarshie, EN-B orcid.org/0000-0002-8720-2355, Oppong Asante, K, Andoh-Arthur, J et al. (2 more authors) (2024) To Keep the Law or to Repeal It: Views of Parliamentarians On the Call to Decriminalise Attempted Suicide in Ghana. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 89 (1). pp. 39-56. ISSN 0030-2228
Abstract
We explored the views of members of parliament (MPs) in Ghana on the call to decriminalise attempted suicide. We applied reflexive thematic analysis to Parliamentary Hansards (2017–2020) on calls to decriminalise attempted suicide in Ghana. 11 MPs shared their stance for or against the call. We developed three major themes that entailed, often, opposing views: (1) deterrent effect of the law (against: the law punishes and deters to protect life; for: the law is insensitive and has ironic effects), (2) enforcement of the law (against: leave things as they are, the law is not enforced, anyway; for: crime is not self-inflicted) and (3) prioritisation of suicide prevention (against: focus on more pressing issues, but resource support systems; for: the law and legitimate support systems cannot co-exist). The findings indicate two needs: to extend suicide literacy to Ghanaian MPs, and to initiate a public/private member’s bill on attempted suicide decriminalisation.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2021. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) |
Keywords: | anti-suicide law, attempted suicide, decriminalisation, members of parliament, suicide |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 13 Jan 2022 15:53 |
Last Modified: | 29 Oct 2024 14:06 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/00302228211066683 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:181934 |