Forced suicide is a method of execution where the victim is coerced into dying by suicide to avoid facing an alternative option which they perceive as much worse, such as being tortured to death, suffering public humiliation, or having friends or family members punished.
In ancient Greece and Rome
thumb|[[The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David (1787)]]
Forced suicide was a common means of execution in ancient Greece and Rome. As a mark of respect, it was generally reserved for aristocrats sentenced to death; the victims would either drink hemlock or fall on their swords. Economic motivations prompted some suicides in ancient Rome. A person who was condemned to death would forfeit property to the government. People could evade that provision and let the property pass to their heirs by committing suicide prior to arrest.
One of the most well-known forced suicides is that of the philosopher Socrates, who drank hemlock after his trial for allegedly corrupting the youth of Athens. The Stoic philosopher Seneca also killed himself in response to an order by his pupil, the Roman Emperor Nero, who himself was forced to die by suicide at a later date. Other famous forced suicides include Corbulo who was also killed by Nero following Corbulo's implication in plots against him.
In Asia
The Hindu practice of sati, in which a recently widowed woman would immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre,
As a substitute for honor killings
A forced suicide may be a substitute for an honor killing when a woman violates the namus in some conservative Islamic sects. In 2006, the United Nations investigated reports of forced suicides of women in southeastern Turkey.
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