This article presents a point of view which is not meant to condone child abuse but to sensitize therapists to the pain & grief abusers may experience as they face separation & loss. Suicide ideation may be prominent, especially in abusers who have maintained a strong emotional bond with the abused child & now are separated from that child. Because of the pathologic but symbiotic relationship between child & abuser, suicide by the abuser may have long-lasting & devasting consequences for the child. Three case studies are discussed. (5 refs.)