NCJ Number
109632
Journal
Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: (Autumn 1987) Pages: 194-204
Date Published
1987
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Data from a number of societies, including North America, indicate that wife abuse may be one of the most significant precipitants of female suicide.
Abstract
Anthropological analysis indicates that in some societies female suicide is a culturally recognized behavior that enables the weak to influence the strong and/or take revenge on those who oppress them. Case studies from West New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea and comparisons with data from other societies suggest that if a woman's support group does not defend her when she is the victim of violence that passes the bounds of normative behavior, her suicide may be revenge suicide, intended to force others to take vengeance on the abusive husband. Research focused on the relationship between domestic violence and female suicide should be a priority of anthropologists as well as suicidologists. (Author abstract)