A case study of the suicide of a young Kaliai girl in northwest New Britain, Papua New Guinea introduces a discussion of suicide as an expression of power by otherwise powerless people, and a consideration of the validity of using the legal terms suicide and homicide in a cross‐cultural context. Data on different forms of self‐killing practiced by Kaliai women support the argument that these terms are inadequate and inappropriate when applied to people who do not share European legal and cultural traditions. [suicide, women, political behavior, comparative legal systems, Melanesia]

Data from a number of societies, including North America, indicate that wife abuse may be one of the most significant precipitants of female suicide. Anthropological analysis indicates that in some societies female suicide is a culturally recognized behavior that enables the weak to influence the strong and/or take revenge on those who oppress them. Case studies from West New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea and comparisons with data from other societies suggest that if a woman's support group does not defend her when she is the victim of violence that passes the bounds of normative behavior, her suicide may be revenge suicide, intended to force others to take vengeance on the abusive husband. Research focused on the relationship between domestic violence and female suicide should be a priority of anthropologists as well as suicidologists.

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