decriminalization

English

Alternative forms

• (mainly UK) decriminalisation

Etymology

de- +‎ criminalization

Pronunciation

• enPR: dēkrĭ"mĭnəlīzā'shən, IPA^(key): /diːˌkɹɪmɪnəlaɪzˈeɪʃən/

Noun

decriminalization (uncountable)

1. The act of making an activity or substance no longer criminalized (no longer a crime, subject to criminal penalties, to perform or possess). (Compare legalization, which often implies regulation.)

   the decriminalization of all plant-based psychedelics

2. The act of ceasing to treat a person as a criminal, by making their activities legal or no longer subjecting them to the criminal justice system (but instead possibly the mental healthcare system, etc).
   • 2006, Mark R. Munetz, Patricia M. Griffin, “Use of the Sequential Intercept Model as an approach to decriminalization of people with serious mental illness”, in Psychiatric Services, 57(4), 544-549:
   • 2012, Sverre Molland, The Perfect Business? Anti-Trafficking and the Sex Trade along the Mekong, University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, page 38:

     Most sex work feminists support either the legalization or the decriminalization of sex workers.

Antonyms

• criminalization

Hypernyms

• legal reclassification

Translations

making something no longer illegal

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: ապաքրեականացում (apakʻreakanacʻum)
• Catalan: descriminalització f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 除罪化 (chúzuìhuà)

• Czech: dekriminalizace f
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: decriminalisering (nl) f
• Finnish: laillistaminen (fi), dekriminalisointi (fi)
• French: décriminalisation (fr) f, dépénalisation (fr) f
• Georgian: დეკრიმინალიზაცია (deḳriminalizacia)
• German: Entkriminalisierung f
• Greek: αποποινικοποίηση (el) f (apopoinikopoíisi)
• Hungarian: dekriminalizáció (hu), dekriminalizálás
• Italian: decriminalizzazione f
• Japanese: 免罪 (ja) (menzai)
• Kazakh: қылмыссыздандыру (qylmyssyzdandyru)
• Korean: 비범죄화 (bibeomjoehwa)
• Polish: dekryminalizacja (pl) f
• Portuguese: descriminalização (pt) f, legalização (pt) f
• Russian: декриминализа́ция (ru) f (dekriminalizácija)
• Spanish: descriminalización f
• Swedish: avkriminalisering (sv) c
• Ukrainian: декриміналіза́ція f (dekryminalizácija)
• Vietnamese: phi hình sự hóa

turning a criminal into a non-criminal

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: decriminalisering (nl) f
• Finnish: dekriminalisointi (fi)
• Vietnamese: phi hình sự hóa

See also

• legalization