The perception of imams (Islamic religious leaders) on the legal status and decriminalization of suicide attempts in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: As suicide is a criminal offence in Bangladesh, determination of the perception of religious leaders on the legal status would pave the way to decriminalise suicide in the country. However, no previous attempt was noted to assess the perception of religious leaders on the criminal legal status of suicide in Bangladesh. Objectives: We aimed to see the perception of Islamic religious leaders on the legal status and decriminalisation of suicide in Bangladesh. Methods: We collected data for this cross-sectional study between June and July 2023 from 162 imams using a selfreporting instrument. The questionnaire contains three sections, namely, socio-demographic variables, suicidal behavior, and perception of the legal status and decriminalisation of suicide attempts. Results: The mean age of the imams was 38.6 ± 9.6 (range 22–63) years. Among the participants, about 18% had lifetime suicidal thoughts, 7.4% had suicidal thoughts in the last year, and 6.2% had suicide attempt . More than 95% (n=155) of participants mentioned that suicide is forbidden in Islam; 73.5% mentioned that suicide is a punishable crime; 94% did not see any incident of punishment for a suicide attempt; 62% thought that persons should be sent to hospital after a suicide attempt; 58% thought that the criminal legal status is harmful to suicide prevention; and 50.6% thought decriminalisation would not prevent suicide. Conclusions: The findings of the study indicate that awareness programs that bring attention to the beneficial role of decriminalisation of suicide attempt should target Islamic religious leaders in Bangladesh as about half of the participants’ perceptions are against decriminalisation.