Wikipedia:Committed suicide

Essay on editing Wikipedia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The phrase committed suicide is one of several that are discouraged by most style guides, public health experts, and suicide prevention organizations. The phrase is neither banned nor encouraged in English Wikipedia articles. Editors may find the following information useful, but please remember that this phrase is not the most important decision about how to present suicide-related content. For advice on other points, see the MOS:SUICIDE guideline.

This is an essay.

It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article or a Wikipedia policy, as it has not been reviewed by the community.

This page in a nutshell: Although most external style guides recommend against it, the phrase committed suicide is not banned in Wikipedia articles.

What's problematic with "committed"?

Even though committed suicide remains a common phrase, there are a couple of problems with committed.

According to both reliable sources and Wikipedia editors, committed suicide is outdated and was established when suicide was commonly a crime or a sin. The common use is still related to crimes (e.g., committed murder, committed fraud, committed adultery). In different times suicide actually was commonly considered a crime or a sin, in some places still is, and saying that someone "committed" suicide evokes that connection. Some people believe that the phrase committed suicide is stigmatizing and blames the subject for mental health conditions. These concerns can lead to readers being distracted by the choice of language, and editors getting involved in disputes.

"By saying that decedents have committed suicide, we risk inadvertently associating individuals fighting mental health challenges with those who have committed heinous crimes, subsequently worsening the stigma surrounding suicidality."

With regard to suicides associated with mental health diseases like major depression, the word committed implies an intenionality that may not be present.

The idea of choice or free will is often discouraged when talking about suicide because thinking is often very impaired at the time of death. Sometimes, individuals in the throes of unimaginable emotional pain are not entirely capable of making a rational decision because their depression, addiction, or other mental health condition often prevents them from generating alternative solutions to their problems.

Yes, this really does offend some people

So if you are going to use it, you need to keep this in mind.

The safest choice: If you want readers to focus more on facts and less on verbiage, then avoid using committed suicide.

No, died by suicide is not the only alternative

In past discussions, much of the support for using committed suicide has come from editors who complain that they dislike the alternative died by suicide on aesthetic grounds or as a neologism. The phrase died by suicide has been in use since at least 1787, but it sounds newfangled or clunky to some editors. Others have incorrectly claimed that "died by suicide" (and similar phrases) use the passive voice or that it is a euphemism (contrast with euphemisms in the List of English-language expressions related to death).

If you dislike died by suicide, then don't use it! There are many alternatives. For example, if emphasizing the deceased person's agency and autonomy is important to you, then try a direct statement in plain, simple words: "He killed himself". If the cause of death is particularly important, then a statement about that may be appropriate: "He died of a self-inflicted gunshot". If key facts are disputed, consider an option like "The coroner returned a verdict of suicide". The best wording will depend on the context, as the best language for describing the death of a modern, mentally ill young person will usually not be the best way to describe a physician-assisted suicide or the state-ordered death of Socrates.

In all cases, avoid euphemisms as well as flowery and unclear phrases, such as "did away with himself", "decided to end it all", "shuffled off this mortal coil", "chose to die with dignity", "lost their fight with depression", or unalive.

What to do

Since an RFC in 2021, the normal approach is:

If you are writing an article about a person who has died or had any experience related to suicide, write whatever you believe is appropriate, having considered what your best sources say and the advice in MOS:SUICIDE. Remember that other choices (e.g., level of detail, whether purported motivations are mentioned) are more important than whether you use the phrase committed suicide.
Over time, the use of committed suicide has been declining on the English Wikipedia,^[1] but editors should not systematically remove all uses of that phrase from Wikipedia. If you believe its use is suboptimal in a particular article, you are allowed to change it, exactly like you could change any other phrase.
If an editor replaces committed suicide with another phrase, please don't revert it back in. If you dislike their alternative, try finding a compromise on a third option. For example, if an editor replaces committed suicide with died by suicide, then perhaps you would change it to killed himself. If you believe that committed suicide is particularly appropriate for the specific article, then please treat this as controversial and start a discussion instead of reverting.

Prior discussions

Please update this list as more discussions happen.

Wording on articles about suicide in line with recommended best practice based on research, WT:MOS 2014
Does "died by suicide" constitute a euphemism?, WT:WTW 2016
Usage of "Committed suicide", WP:MOSBIO 2017
Use of "died by suicide" at an article, MOS 2017
Change suicide references to remove criminal allusion, VPPOL 2017
Stigmatizing language regarding suicide, VPPOL 2018
Suicides?, WTW 2018
RFC: Categories with committed suicide in title, CAT 2019
RFC: "Committed suicide" language, VPPOL 2021
Change suicide references to remove criminal allusion, VPPOL 2023
Disruptive editing: mass replacement of "committed suicide", ANI 2023
Change wording in MOS:SUICIDE to better reflect the supermajority consensus in the RFC that added it, VPPOL 2023

Trivia

"Committed", as a transitive verb for an action, is used for committing crimes, sins, harm, suicide, errors, faux pas, and (ironically) acts of kindness. Other uses that involve committing a thing, rather than an act (e.g., committing code, committing something to memory, committing a body to the deep, committing resources), are not the same grammatical construction.
The most famous ironic use of "commit" is attributed to Anne Herbert, who adapted the set phrase "random acts of violence and senseless acts of cruelty" in reports about rising crime rates to exhort people to instead commit "random kindness and senseless acts of beauty".^[2]
The word suicide appeared in print for the first known time in 1643. "Died by suicide" was used no later than 1787.
Decriminalization campaigns during the Victorian era encouraged using the word suicide instead of the older and more obviously crime-related word self-murder.

Notes

External links

More information Source, Contents ...

Advice about this phrase in reliable sources
Source	Contents
"commit suicide" in Cambridge Dictionary	idiom, "now considered offensive because it suggests that doing this is a crime".
Samaritans' Media guidelines	extensive advice, says "Don't use: Commit suicide" and lists preferred alternatives.
BBC style guide	"Some people are offended by the use of the term "commits suicide", as they say it implies a criminal action"; lists preferred alternatives.
Garner's Modern English Usage	"Since about 2000, style manuals have come to avoid commit suicide, which is now considered insensitive because of its whiff of criminality. The trend is to prefer die by suicide, kill oneself, or take one’s own life."
AFSP Guidelines for Ethically Reporting on Suicide	"Do not refer to a suicide attempt as “successful,” “unsuccessful” or as a “failed attempt,” and do not use the word “committed.” Instead, use “attempted suicide,” “made an attempt,” “died by suicide” or “took his/her life.” Use terminology that is not moralistic and better aligns suicide with other health conditions and decreases negative attitudes of mental health conditions."
Reporting on Suicide	"Certain phrases and words can further stigmatize suicide, spread myths, and undermine suicide prevention objectives such as “committed suicide” or referring to suicide as “successful,” “unsuccessful” or a “failed attempt.”"
Center for Journalism Ethics	"The AP Stylebook...recommends using certain language and avoiding phrases like committed suicide or unsuccessful suicide attempt because the verb commit can imply a criminal act and it should not be considered “unsuccessful” if someone survives a suicide attempt."
Mindset media guide	"Don’t say a person ‘committed suicide’. This outdated expression, linking suicide with illegality or moral failing, can make it harder for others to seek help, or for families to recover."
Mental Health Foundation (New Zealand)	"Avoid saying someone “committed” suicide – this associates suicide with a crime or sin."
IASP Language Guidelines	"The term “committed suicide” implies a level of criminality while “completed suicide” implies earlier attempts when there may have been none. Both terms (committed and completed) perpetuate the stigma associated with suicide and are strongly discouraged."
Canadian Psychiatric Association	"Avoid...Inappropriate use of language, including...“commit” or “committed” suicide". "Commit” evokes a crime, since suicide was historically criminalized; however, this terminology is not consistent with the modern understanding of suicide evolving from a treatable disorder."
World Health Organization	"The phrase 'committed suicide' implies criminality (suicide was historically criminalized in many countries and remains a criminal offence in some countries today) and unnecessarily increases the stigma experienced by those who have lost a person to suicide. It is better to say/write 'died by suicide' or 'took one’s life'."
US NIH Style Guide	"Use died by suicide or attempted suicide instead of committed suicide."
American Medical Association Manual of Style	"Avoid the phrase committed suicide because it implies criminality or moral failing. [...] Factual language is preferred, such as died by suicide or suicide attempt."