Suicides and Claimed Suicides in the Context of Domestic and Family Violence and Coercive Control: Legal and Policy Responses

Abstract

Increasingly, suicide is being linked with histories of domestic and family violence. While some abusive partners kill their victim in a context of domestic and family violence and then claim it was suicide, in other cases the cause of death may be less directly connected to the abusive partner. For example, a victim of domestic and family violence may be overwhelmed by the abuse and determine to suicide – a form of slow femicide. In other cases, the perpetrator of abuse may encourage the deceased to suicide or to take part in a suicide pact, or pressure the abused person to agree to death as a form of mercy killing. Across these contexts, where a homicide offence is charged, suicide may be claimed by the accused, or assumed by investigators, to be the cause of death. Drawing on case examples, this article explores these various contexts, and considers the role of legal and policy responses to them. The article stresses the need for timely investigation of purported suicides as potential homicides where there is any suspicion of previous domestic and family violence and considers the possibilities for law and policy reform.