Chapter 9: Suicide and Femicide: Rendering Histories of Violence Visible in Women’s Deaths from Suicide

Despite a significant acceleration in attention among advocates globally, relatively limited scholarly attention has been paid to the experiences of victim-survivors of intimate partner violence who die by suicide. The limited evidence which does exist is compelling and highlights the importance of understanding histories of intimate partner violence prior to women’s deaths by suicide. This chapter will document the extent to which women’s deaths by suicide, where there is a history of violence, are included within the frame of femicide counting, and how this may be more effectively achieved. Acknowledging the importance of accounting for all women’s deaths by violence within counting practices, the chapter will also examine why building improved understandings of the interaction between experiences of intimate partner violence and death by suicide is imperative to inform effective responses, targeted femicide prevention, and early intervention strategies.