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"Refuge workers are already having these conversations. What they often lack is the confidence, the language and a framework that fits the reality of coercive control." Audrey Bevan, CEO, CALM Suicide Programs |
Domestic and family violence is closely linked to suicide risk, for victim-survivors and in some cases for people who use violence. DFV workers are often the first people to hear about suicidal thoughts, so they need trauma-informed suicide intervention skills that fit their setting: asking directly, responding safely, and integrating suicide risk into existing family violence risk and safety work.
The link between domestic and family violence and suicide is well established in Australian and international research, and it is now the subject of a federal parliamentary inquiry.
For victim-survivors, prolonged exposure to coercion, fear, isolation, financial insecurity and loss of autonomy can create a sense of entrapment: a feeling that there is no way out. A 2025 Victorian study of coronial investigations found that coercive and controlling behaviours had a profound impact on women's suicide risk, with that risk amplified by fear of the perpetrator, limited help-seeking options and the cumulative effect of violence during and after a relationship.
The same research highlights another pattern DFV workers recognise: some people who use violence manipulate a partner's distress, or use threats of self-harm, as a form of control. Workers need to be able to respond safely to both.
Refuge staff, DFV case managers, specialist family violence advisers and men's behaviour change facilitators are often the people someone trusts first. Many are already skilled in risk assessment and safety planning. What is sometimes missing is confidence to ask directly about suicide and to hold that conversation safely.
Generic suicide prevention training can fall short in DFV settings because it often assumes:
None of these can be assumed in family violence work.
The goal is not to add another assessment. It is to make asking about suicide a normal, confident part of the conversations DFV workers already have: at intake, during safety planning, at points of separation and court proceedings, and when circumstances change. Periods of separation and legal stress can be times of heightened risk, so these are natural points to check in.
CALM Suicide Programs has its roots in social work and frontline community practice. CALM's accredited suicide intervention training gives DFV staff a clear framework for recognising distress, asking directly and responding safely, while the Accidental Counsellor and Be Well Stay Well programs support the broader crisis and wellbeing skills this work demands. [CONFIRM: DFV-specific examples or case studies used in CALM delivery.]
Is domestic and family violence linked to suicide?
Yes. Australian and international research shows a clear association between family violence and increased suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and deaths by suicide. A federal parliamentary inquiry into this link was adopted in October 2025.
Why do DFV workers need suicide prevention training?
DFV workers are often the first people a victim-survivor confides in. Trauma-informed suicide intervention skills help them ask directly, respond safely and integrate suicide risk into family violence safety work.
How is suicide prevention training for DFV services different?
It accounts for coercive control, unsafe homes and limited access to phones or money, integrates with family violence risk frameworks, and prepares staff to respond to suicidal distress in people who use violence without allowing it to become a tool of control.
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