Coercive Control

Threatening a partner with suicide in order to control them is recognized by intimate partner violence experts and criminal behavioral analysts as part of a larger deadly pattern of abuse called “coercive control.”

This abuse might include:

• Telling you it’s your responsibility to give them a reason to live
• Threatening suicide when you try to break up with them
• Saying they have nothing to live for if you don’t return to them/remain with them
• Making you “prove” your love by doing whatever they demand
• Making suicide threats when caught lying, cheating, stealing
• Causing you the fear of the possibility of living with guilt over their death
• Implying that it will be your fault if they end up dead