Threats of self-harm or suicide used as control

Definition

Statements that the abuser will harm or kill himself or herself if the target leaves, resists, or fails to comply.

How it operates

Threats of suicide tied to the target's behavior, statements that the target will be responsible if the abuser dies, and related emotional blackmail framed as despair.

Function

Place responsibility for the abuser's survival on the target and induce guilt or fear that prevents exit.

Harm

The conversion of the target's autonomy into a perceived life-or-death decision for someone else.

Why this is coercive control

Genuine expressions of distress that are not used to control the target's choices. The conduct here places responsibility for the abuser's survival on the target and induce guilt or fear that prevents exit.

Constructed example

“If you walk out that door, I won't be alive when you get back. It will be on you.”

Fictitious. Written to illustrate the behavior. Not a case.