Family violence and women's deaths by suicide : A Victorian study

[Executive Summary]

Women’s deaths by suicide in the context of family violence victimisation represent an important but often overlooked dimension of gender-based violence. Coroners and researchers in Australia and internationally are increasingly drawing attention to the intersection between women’s lived experiences of family violence and their heightened risk of suicide. Currently, suicides related to family violence, including women’s death by suicide in this context, are inconsistently counted in national statistics, obscuring the scale of the issue and limiting opportunities for targeted prevention and intervention.

In recent years, the Victorian coronial investigation process has revealed compelling evidence of the impact of family violence victimisation, in its myriad forms, on women’s mental health and wellbeing generally and suicidality specifically. Drawing on the views of a small group of experts, this report aims to offer insights to inform better understandings of the risk of suicide among women who have experienced family violence victimisation and opportunities to support investigative processes to account for the relationship between family violence and women’s deaths by suicide in Victoria. It also illuminates some of the opportunities for enhanced intervention and system responses across the family violence, mental health and justice systems.

Research design

This exploratory study used a qualitative research design to examine investigation processes relating to histories of family violence following women’s deaths by suicide in Victoria, Australia. We conducted a background review of 12 published coronial investigations into women’s suicides released between 2019 to 2024 where a history of family violence was identified or where this violence was suspected in the lead up to the death. This background review offered insights into the range of circumstances within which family violence was recognised in the context of women’s deaths by suicide. This review also supported the approach to the interviews undertaken for this study, which are the focus of this report. Specifically, data collection involved in-depth interviews with 20 participants working in various roles across the family violence, health, and justice sectors, including professionals from Victoria and the UK. The exploratory design of this study has enabled us to identify key issues emerging in this area. It does not constitute a formal evaluation of current systems or processes, but the insights drawn from participants from a range of expert perspectives highlight critical considerations for policy, practice and resourcing. Specifically, the report illuminates a range of systemic challenges – as well as opportunities – for identifying and responding to women at risk of suicide, along with the issues that can arise in recognising the role and impacts of family violence prior to women’s deaths by suicide.

Copyright © 2025 Stefani Vasil, Kate Fitz-Gibbon, and Marie Segrave. All Rights Reserved.

The study was funded by the Victorian Women’s Trust through The Con Irwin Sub-Fund.