INTRODUCTION

Suicidal Ideation
Domestic violence is a factor in up to one-quarter of female suicide attempts. Female victims of
domestic violence have eight times at risk for suicide compared with the general population. Fifty
percent of battered women who attempt suicide undertake subsequent attempts. Married females
experience lower suicide rates compared with single females; however, if domestic violence is present in
the marriage, the risk of suicide increases. If pregnant women are a victim of domestic violence, the risk
of suicide increases. One in twelve pregnant women experience battering such as hits to the abdomen,
breasts, or genitals, while 20 percent of pregnant female victims of domestic violence attempt suicide.
Many female victims of domestic violence indicate that their rate of victimization increased when they
became pregnant .Along with domestic violence, the prior loss of a child by miscarriage or a desire for
abortion also increase later suicidal tendencies. Victims and children of domestic violence carry higher
lifetime risk of suicide than the general population. Women who experience intimate partner violence
are 12 times more likely to end their lives by suicide than those who have not .More victims of domestic
violence die by their own hand than by that of their abuser. And, it is not just victims; research also
indicates a two to five fold increase in suicidal behavior for children exposed to domestic violence. One
quandary for advocates and police alike is that victims are sometimes held hostage by the threat of
suicide by their abuser. It is difficult to sort out whether this is an empty threat designed to manipulate
or an actual expression of imminent suiciadality, or some mixture of both. Aggression that is reactive,
impulsive, carries high emotionality and leaves damaged relationships is more indicative of high suicide
risk as compared to violence that is more controlled, with less emotional arousal, and calculated to
produce some external gain. Suicidal Ideation also know as suicidal thoughts, concerned thoughts about
or a preoccupation with suicide. The range of suicidal ideation varies greatly from fleeting thoughts, to
extensive thoughts, to detailed planning, role playing, and incomplete attempts, which may be
deliberately constructed to not complete or to be discovered, or may be fully intended to result in
death, but the individual survives. Most people who have suicidal thoughts do not go on to make
suicidal attempts, but it is considered a risk factor. During 2008-09, an estimated 8.3 million adults aged
18 and over in United States, or 3.7 % of the adult U.S. population, reported having suicidal thoughts in
the previous year. An estimated 2.2 million in the U.S. reported having made suicide plans in the past
year. Suicidal ideation is generally associated with depression and other mood disorders; however, it
seems to have associations with many other mental disorders, life events, and family events, all of which
may increase the risk of suicidal ideation. One study found that 73% of patients with borderline
personality disorder have attempted suicide, with the average patient having 3.4 attempts.
Prevention is the key to intervention
A commonality between suicide and domestic violence is that both are stigmatized; people avoid
discussing having thoughts of suicide just as they avoid talking about being victims of violence. They are
missed, dismissed and avoided because of the common barriers of shame, stigma and secrecy. Yet direct
and open communication is critical to successful intervention. Public health strategies that change public
perception, encourage screening and provide gatekeeper training for community caregivers are

approaches focused on prevention, that make intervention more acceptable and possible. They
integrated suicide prevention policies throughout their entire force, including gatekeeper training and
destigmatizing help-seeking .As a result, not only did their suicide rates decrease, but also homicide and
family violence rates decreased as well.
Intimate Partner Violence and Suicide
According to Suicide Richard McKeon, chief of the suicide prevention branch at the U.S. Suicide and
intimate partner violence are both major public health cries, and theyre closely linked. Survivors of
intimate partner violence are twice as likely to attempt suicide multiple times, he points out, and cases
of murder-suicide are most likely to occur in the context of abuse. Yet despite the clear link, the mental
health and intimate partner violence fields have historically worked in isolation. Over the last two years,
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has been working to bring the
two fields closer together. The psychologists and other experts involved in the effort have been
reviewing the research, creating webinars and other educational resources and exploring additional
ways to ensure that those working in suicide prevention dont miss signs of intimate partner violence
and that working partner violence dont miss suicide warning signs. When each field isnt educated
about the other, the results can be deadly, says McKeon. For example, people working in the intimate
partner violence field may minimize suicide threats made by perpetrators of violence as simply attempts
to manipulate partners.
Domestic Violence and Suicide
One in three women is victimized by domestic violence at some point in her life. Only one in five victims
with physical injuries seeks medical treatment. Only about half of domestic violence incidents are
reported to police. Almost all of the perpetrators of domestic violence say that it will stop but most
dont. The violence usually gets worse. All women who are victims of domestic violence are at risk of
being murdered by their abusers. And one out of every four women who are the victims of domestic
violence attempt suicide. Domestic violence is always wrong, and it is a crime. And there is never an
excuse for domestic violence .All perpetrators of domestic violence are cowards and criminals. The
women who are victimized by these heinous crimes feel trapped and confused. The abuser not only
physically attacks the woman, but also psychologically attacks her .The verbal attacks are meant to
control the victim, and to try to strip her of her self-esteem, self-confidence ,and self-love. The
perpetrator also often wants the woman to believe that she is at fault for the violence and the verbal
abuse. Many domestic violence victims try to change their behavior because the horrible attacks leave
them hopeless, helpless, and confused but there really is nothing that the victims can do to stop the
violence, because they are dealing with a selfish, cruel criminal who does not have a conscience. All of
the blame is on the criminal-the cowardly perpetrator of the domestic violence-not on the victim. The
horrible crime of domestic violence often results in a woman isolating herself and becoming clinically
depressed. Many women feel trapped and powerless, and do not receive treatment for their
depression, and thus believe that suicide is the only way out. Also, many children who are in households
where domestic violence occurs attempt suicide. Children are deeply affected by the physical and
emotional abuse they too feel powerless, and oftentimes become depressed. They may seek to end

their own pain and escape from the horrors of domestic violence with dying by suicide. WHO reports
that 1.5% of all deaths worldwide are due to suicide. Suicide is estimated to be the eighth leading cause
of death in all age groups. The mean age for successfully completed suicide is reported to be 40 years.
Evidence is mounting that an increase in the number of suicides in some communities may represent
only behaviors and suicidal ideation. As the literature reports, women known to be exposed to a violent
intimate relationship were significantly more likely to be hospitalized with a psychiatric diagnosis, injury
and poisoning diagnoses, and diagnoses of assault or attempted suicide. As WHOs recently released
One of the most common forms of violence against women is that performed by a husband or male
partner. The result is that half of humanity is vulnerable to a risk factor with profound implications for
health, but one which is nevertheless often ignored. The incidence of depression and anxiety was found
to be higher among Pakistani women who were victims of domestic violence, as measured by
depression and anxiety scales. Sixty percent of the victims had depression and 65% of the victims had
anxiety. Another study focused on the prevalence and severity of physical and psychological abuse, its
consequences, and predisposing factors. Findings indicated that verbal, physical, and emotional abuses
were common, leading to intimidation, emotional trauma, continued depression, suicidal plans, and
suicidal attempts among women.
Risk Factors
The risk factors for suicide include female gender, low socioeconomic status, lack of education,
unemployment, increasing age, being married, not working outside of the home, and domestic
violence. Various risk factors related suicidality among female domestic violence victims. The physical
and psychological abuse by a partner may trigger suicidal thoughts. However, other underlying factors
are relevant, which concern individual and social issues. Regarding individual issues, research alludes to
genetic factors involving family histories of suicide, and point to problems involving mental disorders,
including aspects of anxiety, nervous breakdowns, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Depression and posttraumatic stress may be results of ongoing abuse from a partner or lingering
aftereffects of a trauma occurring years earlier. For example some battered females with suicidal
tendencies indicate that they still deal with the psychological effects of sexual, emotional, or physical
maltreatment experienced as a child. Combined with factors of low esteem, these psychological effects
can trigger suicidal thoughts when victims blame themselves for their abuse. Regarding social issues,
research emphasizes the importance of social bonds. This includes friends and family networks. With all
factors, the likelihood of suicide increases when victims use drugs as a coping mechanism.
The Impact of Divorce Laws
Research in the field of household economics indicates that females considering suicide in domestic
violence situations benefit from unilateral no-fault divorce laws. Traditional divorce laws require specific
legal reasons for marriage dissolution. They also require both spouses to consent to the divorce. In
states with traditional divorce laws, females experiencing abuse by coercive spouses experience legal
entrapment. Even if a wife wants out of the relationship, she legally cannot dissipate the marriage
contract without her husbands approval. This leaves suicide as a viable option. The balance of power in
marriage shifts when states institute unilateral divorce. Abused wives have the power to legally end

marriages on their own rather than experience the misery of an abusive relationship that could result in
the taking of their own lives. Confronted with a possible divorce, husbands have the choice to correct
abusive behavior or let the marriage end. Work in this area examines domestic violence and suicide
rates before and after states enacted unilateral divorce. It shows a significant decline in reports of
spousal violence carried out by husbands against wives with the enactment of unilateral divorce laws.
On the other hand, it also shows an increase in spousal violence carried out by wives against husbands.
In relation to suicide, it indicates a 6 percent reduction in female suicides. In some areas, research
indicates, the reduction of domestic violence and suicide may take up to twenty years. It sometimes
takes that long recognize the previously absent bargaining power available.
The Impact of Battered Womans Defense
Suicide and divorce are not the only alternatives for female victims of domestic violence. They may opt
to kill abusive partners. Twelve percent of homicides by women in the United States involve the killing of
a partner in an abusive relationship. This sometimes involves the murder of an abusive partner followed
by a suicide. However, with legal defenses involving battered woman syndrome becoming more
acceptable, judges and juries are acknowledging the detrimental impact of domestic violence on
females. In turn, some scholars indicate that female suicide following the homicide of an abusive spouse
is dropping.