There is a large and statistically significant reduction in the female suicide rate following
the change to unilateral divorce. Further, this effect seems to grow as the effects of divorce law
reform percolate through society, presumably reflecting couples learning about the new law,
social norms about the family adjusting, and spouses starting to understand their new rights.
Averaging the effects over the twenty years following reform suggests an aggregate decline of
5-10%. For male suicides, these estimates indicate no discernible effect.
– Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: Divorce Laws and Family Distress. NBER 2003
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Or put more simply:
For every 20 women who would have committed suicide in the past, 1 or 2 of them no longer felt the need to kill themselves once they had the option to leave a marriage.
Never forget, folks. Patriarchy kills.
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