Recommendations for Suicide Prevention Hotlines on Responding to Intimate Partner Violence

Brief Overview: Developed by experts at the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health, in collaboration with experts from the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and the University of Rochester Susan B. Anthony Center and Laboratory of Interpersonal Violence and Victimization, this document provides guidance for suicide prevention crisis centers on recognizing and responding to intimate partner violence (IPV) in the context of suicide prevention and other crisis calls. In addition to background information on the relationship between IPV and suicide, this document provides recommendations for suicide prevention hotlines on how to prepare their organizations to respond to IPV, and practical suggestions and tools for crisis line staff on screening, risk assessment, safety planning, and referral for callers who are experiencing IPV.

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Recommendations for Suicide Prevention Hotlines on Responding to Intimate Partner Violence

Introduction to the Recommendations:

This document provides guidance for suicide prevention crisis centers on recognizing and responding to intimate partner violence (IPV) in the context of suicide prevention and other crisis calls. In addition to background information on the relationship between IPV and suicide, this document provides recommendations for suicide prevention hotlines on how to prepare their organizations to respond to IPV, and practical suggestions and tools for crisis line staff on screening, risk assessment, safety planning,
and referral for callers who are experiencing IPV.

The recommendations presented in this document complement the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s Best Practices for Helping Callers, and are designed so that they can be easily incorporated into existing suicide prevention and crisis assessment and response protocols. Recommendations include:

• A supportive approach (good contact, collaborative problem solving, active listening);
• Assessment of risk (harm to self, harm to others, harm from an intimate partner);
• Assisting callers at imminent risk (active engagement, safety planning, active rescue); and
• Continuity of care (developing partnerships with community domestic violence (DV) programs and hotlines, linking to DV resources).

Approaches to safety, confidentiality, mandatory reporting, and active rescue differ to some extent in the context of IPV, and will be addressed specifically in this document. The term intimate partner violence or IPV is used throughout the document except when referring to domestic violence
programs (DV) and services.