City Research Online

Abstract

Background:
Suicide and domestic violence and abuse (DVA) represents a critical yet underexplored intersection of public health and social justice in Ireland. This study investigated the prevalence, circumstances, and risk factors associated with suicides with a recorded link to DVA drawing on coronial data from the Irish Probable Suicide Deaths Study (IPSDS 2015–2020).

Methods:
All cases in the IPSDS (n = 3,622) were screened for documented domestic violence or related indicators. For selected cases, relevant demographic, clinical, psychosocial, and service-contact information was extracted and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Composite narratives were developed to synthesise recurrent patterns and present a “storied account” of the combined experiences across cases.

Results:
Fifteen DVA-related suicide cases were identified; all were female. Thus, over the six-year period, 1.7% of suicides among adult women (≥18 years, n = 873) in Ireland were recorded as DVA-related. Multiple adverse experiences were identified among the women including mental health difficulties, substance misuse, physical health conditions, chronic pain, and unemployment. Together, these findings underscore the complexity of suicide prevention in this context. Composite narratives further illustrate how contextual and relational factors interact to shape suicide risk among women with experiences of DVA.

Conclusion:
Overlapping vulnerabilities and risk factors for women who die by DVA-related suicide present challenges for how “domestic violence” is identified and recorded in coronial records. Recommendations for service provision and the coronial system are discussed.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of College of Psychiatrists of Ireland. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Publisher Keywords:	domestic abuse, domestic violence, suicide, coronial data, Ireland
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Departments:	School of Policy & Global Affairs School of Policy & Global Affairs > Violence and Society Centre
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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