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Survivors Bill of Rights
If you are grieving the suicide of a loved one, you deserve compassion, time, truth, and support. This page honors the rights of survivors as they move through loss in their own way.
What survivors deserve
There is no single right way to grieve. Survivors need space to mourn, permission to ask questions, and access to care that respects their experience.
Right 1
To grieve honestly
You have the right to feel shock, sadness, anger, confusion, relief, love, or numbness without judgment. Grief after suicide can be complex, and your emotions do not need to fit anyone else’s timeline.
Right 2
To seek answers
You have the right to ask questions, to gather information at your own pace, and to live with uncertainty when answers are incomplete. Healing does not require you to silence your need to understand.
Right 3
To receive support
You have the right to compassionate care, practical help, and safe community. No one should have to carry suicide loss alone, and reaching out is a sign of courage, not weakness.
Survivors’ Bill of Rights
I have the right to be free of guilt.
I have the right not to feel responsible for the suicide death.
I have the right to express my feelings and emotions, even if they do not seem acceptable, as long as they do not interfere with the rights of others.
I have the right to have my questions answered honestly by authorities and family members.
I have the right not to be deceived because others feel they can spare me further grief.
I have the right to maintain a sense of hopefulness.
I have the right to peace and dignity
I have the right to positive feelings about the one I lost through suicide, regardless of the events prior to or at the time of the untimely death.
I have the right to retain my individuality and not be judged because of the suicide death.
I have the right to seek counseling and a support group to enable me to honestly explore my feelings, to further the acceptance process.
I have the right to reach acceptance.
I have the right to a new beginning.
I have the right to be.