Suicide has occurred consistently throughout recorded history in every cultural and social setting. However, attitudes towards suicide have varied widely in different ages, cultures and societies.

In ancient Greece and Rome suicide was generally seen as an honourable or heroic form of death. Eleven instances of suicide are mentioned in the Old Testament, these are reported simply and are given no negative connotations.

One of the most famous examples of suicide was the mass suicide of Jews at Masada in AD 73. This was generally perceived to have been an honourable action to avoid falling into the hands of the defeating Roman army.

In the early years of Christianity St Augustine (AD 345-430) pronounced suicide to be a "mortal sin" and a century later the Christian Church prohibited the saying of masses for the souls of those who died by suicide, and they were denied burial in hallowed ground. The last recorded "unhallowed" burial of a suicide in Britain occurred as late as 1823. [54]

The Koran expressly forbids suicide, and the impact of this injunction still has considerable force in Islamic countries. With the exception of Jordan and Turkey, there are virtually no officially recorded suicides in Islamic nations. [55]

In Japan, the Samurai had ritual codes for different methods of suicide which would bring them "death before dishonour". Even in modern Japan there is little stigma associated with suicide, which may in part explain Japan's high suicide rates.

Within the Hindu faith, although there appears to be a general taboo against suicide, particularly among men, the idea of "altruistic" suicide is acceptable, and there is an honourable tradition associated with bereaved women, particularly widows, committing suicide.

As recently as the 1950s in Britain, people were still being sent to prison for attempting suicide. The 1961 Suicide Act repealed the law under which both actual and attempted suicides were held to be criminal acts.

England and Wales were the last countries in Europe to decriminalise suicide.

The word "suicide" itself has the implication of being a criminal act, literally meaning self-murder.

In Britain at the end of the twentieth century with suicide no longer considered a crime, church membership at an all time low, a general loosening of moral prohibitions, and an emphasis on personal freedom, suicide or taking one's own life appears to be more socially acceptable within the general population than ever before. Certainly, there would appear to be fewer moral and psychological obstacles standing between people and the act of suicide.

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