HOW MANY MORE is aimed at exposing and stopping violence against women in the regions, where the problem is highest but the support is lowest. ACM is pushing for more funding for preventative and protective programs, now.
Queanbeyan teen Charli Powell was only 17-years-old, with a part-time job and close friendships, when she took her own life.
Australia is grappling with the 31 deaths of women this year, including high-profile family violence homicides.
But many more victim-survivors die at their own hands than by abusers.
The full picture of how alleged family and domestic violence might have contributed to the suicide statistics in Australia remains incomplete.
Experts agree it is an under-acknowledged and "inherently preventable" issue.
'Verbal and physical abuse'
Charli was wise and a force of nature, her mother Sharon Moore recalls.
"She was just so compassionate, she had so much empathy ... I was just so proud," Ms Moore said.
"She would have changed the world."
Magistrate Harriet Grahame found, that on the balance of probabilities, Charli took her own life in the context of domestic violence perpetrated by her boyfriend.
"She had been subjected to significant verbal and physical abuse in the months before she took her own life. I have no doubt that impacted on the decision she made," the coroner wrote.
Magistrate Grahame said the decision would disappoint Charli's family; Ms Moore would like it to be reviewed.
The coroner recommended NSW find ways to track the domestic violence history of females who die by suicide.
'I've still got his voice in my head'
An ACT domestic and family violence death review identified 61 suicides, and fewer than five suicide-homicides and suicide-filicides from 2000 to 2022.
Suicides made up 58 per cent of deaths.
Dr Carmel Hobbs, from the University of Tasmania, surveyed young people who were in domestic violence relationships as teenagers.
"Suicide attempts were really common. Nine of the 17 young people I talked to had mentioned suicide and self harm, and for a number they had mentioned multiple suicide attempts," she said.
"The way that young people described these suicide attempts was as a direct response to what they were experiencing.
"Many of these teenagers were living in constant fear, the impact that has on your sense of safety, and the long-term psychological and physiological impacts of that is really huge."
Dr Hobbs said the impact of abuse did not stop just because the relationship did.
"[Victims said,] 'I've still got his voice in my head, I still tell myself I'm worthless, and I'm terrible and nobody will ever love me because that's all I heard.' That's so hard to shake without support," she said.
Psychology of victim-survivor suicide
People can feel a sense of control when they decide to take their own life, Charles Sturt University psychology researcher Dr Rachel Hogg said.
That may be particularly appealing for victims who feel trapped by controlling partners or ex-partners.
A victim-survivor may also become psychologically exhausted, leading to a cognitive narrowing which makes them focus on one thing.
They may also blame themselves for the abuse.
"Somebody experiencing domestic violence often exhausts all possible explanations for why they might be the problem before they are willing to consider that the perpetrator is the problem," Dr Hogg said.
"It's quite common for people who are expressing suicidality to think that if they weren't here anymore then everybody else would be better off."
Making women count
The Counting Dead Women Australia project tries to record every reported femicide - murder of a woman based on her gender - in the country.
The group is not able to track suicides caused by family or domestic violence because it is difficult to record at the time of death, co-founder Dr Jenna Price said.
"[But] I'm really hoping someone does that because ... then we would know what the hell is going on," she said.
Family violence researcher Professor Kate Fitzgibbon, from Monash University, said "we do not adequately capture the prevalence of lives lost to suicide in the context of domestic and family violence".
"There is a need to ensure that state-based domestic and family violence death review teams, and coronial court inquiries also pay attention to suicides in the context of intimate partner and family violence," Dr Fitzgibbon said.
"These deaths are inherently preventable."
An ACT government spokesperson said it would be difficult to review all domestic and family violence deaths.
"Ascertaining whether the experience of domestic and family violence was a contributing factor to the suicide is highly complex," they said.
Looking forward
The ACT government said that "while the current ACT Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan 2019-2024 does not highlight family and domestic violence as an explicit priority, there is an increasing awareness and understanding of the significant impact family/domestic violence has on mental health and wellbeing.
"The ACT Government will continue to work in partnership with the community, use research and data, and engage in open consultation to develop the priorities and actions of future plans."
ACT police consider a perpetrator's history of mental illness when taking a family violence risk assessment tool to help evaluate how dangerous the perpetrator might be.
It does not assess the mental health of the victim.
"All ACT Policing officers are trained to refer victims of any crime to the appropriate support services. These referrals are made on a case-by-case basis and are dependent on the needs of the victim at the time," the spokesperson said.
Dr Hogg said many family violence survivors were misunderstood by the mental health system.
Perpetrators can weaponise diagnoses or hospitalisations against victims, such as during custody disputes.
Any young person in contact with the health system should be screened for family and domestic violence, Dr Hobbs said.
Services aware a young person has been exposed to domestic and family violence should be connecting them to mental health services.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed by phoning Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978, Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800, beyondblue on 1300 224 636, and 1800-RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
