Survivor Rights
The survivor has the right:
- to mourn in his or her own way and within the time it takes.
- to know the truth about the suicide, to see the body of the deceased, and to organize the funeral with respect to one’s own ideas and rituals.
- to consider suicide as the result of several interrelated causes that produced unbearable pain for the deceased: suicide is not a free choice.
- to live wholly, with joy and sorrow, free of stigma or judgment.
- to have his or her privacy respected as well as that of the deceased.
- to find support from relatives, friends, colleagues… and from professional helpers who have knowledge and insight in the dynamics of bereavement, potential risk factors, and in the administrative consequences.
- to be contacted by the clinician/caregiver (if any) who treated the deceased person.
- to not be considered as a suicide candidate or as a patient.
- to place one’s experience in the service of other survivors, caregivers and anyone who seeks to better understand suicide and suicide bereavement.
- to never be as before: there is a life before the suicide and a life afterwards.
Written by the Flemish Working Group on Suicide Survivors