Induced Suicide and Psychological Autopsy

Hidden Femicide: Induced Suicide

There is a hidden and alarming number of women's deaths that are officially registered as suicides, but which in an in-depth criminological analysis are revealed to be the direct result of unbearable and systematic psychological pressure exerted by the aggressor.

Modernly, this is investigated under the concept of "femicide by psychological connection" or induction to suicide.

The mechanics consist of the aggressor methodically eroding the victim's vital resistance, isolating her from all support, ruining her economically and destroying her self-esteem until he convinces her that she is a useless burden or that the only possible way out of her pain is death.

The use of constant phrases such as "do us all a favor and disappear", "no one will miss you" or even putting lethal means within reach of a victim who is already in a severe depressive state, constitute criminal acts of inducement.

It is imperative to stop viewing these deaths as voluntary and free decisions of the victim.

They must be recognized and legally prosecuted as the ultimate success of coercive control, where the perpetrator has succeeded in destroying the psyche of the woman to the point of using her as the executing hand of his own murder.

The Forensic Tool of Psychological Autopsy

When the victim is no longer available to testify, the key forensic tool for seeking justice is the psychological autopsy.

This scientific-technical procedure seeks to reconstruct the victim's mental and emotional state in the moments leading up to his or her death.

It is performed through exhaustive interviews with family members, friends, treating physicians and co-workers, as well as the detailed analysis of their personal documents (diaries, letters) and their digital footprint (messages, emails, network activity).

The aim of the psychological autopsy is to trace the unequivocal causal correlation between the abusive behavior of the aggressor and the progressive psychic deterioration of the victim.

Researchers seek to answer key questions: Was the victim subjected to forced isolation? Did she express fear towards her partner? Was there a drastic change in her personality or habits after the relationship began?

This retrospective reconstruction allows cases of induced suicide to be brought to trial, providing the necessary evidence to demonstrate that the hand that caused the death was not only the victim's, but the invisib