Suicide is a challenging topic, particularly when it involves young people with so much of their lives ahead of them. The loss of a valued friend or colleague can also be very painful.

Thankfully the days of prosecuting people for "attempted suicide" are over; it seldom does much good to criminalise somebody whose only intention is to harm themselves. And the stigma of family shame and exclusion, such as burying suicides outside of church cemeteries, is a relic of the past.