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Each self-inflicted death in which the victim had experienced domestic violence should be treated as a possible homicide, according to demands from campaigners who aim to hold abusers accountable for the devastating consequences of their actions.

This step is essential because law enforcement are not doing enough to hold offenders accountable in cases of suicide following domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is widespread breakdown, especially within the criminal justice system, to examine these deaths with the seriousness they deserve,” stated a co-director of a campaign group at a significant meeting in Westminster recently.

The meeting, arranged by a group running a “Suicide is Homicide” initiative to advocate for change in the legal framework, united relatives who had suffered bereavement to suicide after family violence.

Individual Accounts of Tragedy

One mother lost her daughter Chloe Holland in spring 2023. Prior to her passing, Chloe had informed her former partner to authorities, submitting a lengthy recorded statement as proof against him.

After her death, the perpetrator was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and jailed for over three years. He was subsequently sentenced for an additional term after a another victim came forward to disclose that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

In the wake of her loss, the mother decided to campaign for a legal change to bring perpetrators accountable; yet she then realized that regulations were already in place, they just weren’t often being used to achieve convictions.

“I decided it wasn’t a fresh legislation I required as current statutes were already there, and after learning how much my daughter had been let down before her taking her life by the police and numerous services, they needed to do their job properly, and practices required reform,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have found me and just a handful of us have had a guilty verdict,” she continued. “I was so shocked to see so many families who have been fighting the authorities and CPS for years and receiving no resolution for their child or brother or sister and could not speak out in case it affected inquiries that were not progressing.”

Further Heartbreaking Account

One mother’s daughter her 30-year-old daughter passed away in May 2017, in what she described as “the final act of violence” in a prolonged pattern of mistreatment.

“She was vibrant, she was caring,” she stated. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mother to her two children, and she died by suicide after two years in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her companion,” she explained.

“She endured physical assaults, she was mentally tormented, she was controlled and dismantled gradually until she was unable to envision a way forward. The individual who did this to her walked free, because we label it self-inflicted death, we close the file and we proceed.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she said, “and I haven’t been able to let go. In truth, Hannah didn’t just die by suicide. She was killed. Her death was gradual and intentionally over a two year period, and when I went to the police, when I begged them to look into what he had done to her, I was informed that there was no action that they could do.

“No inquiry was conducted into her passing. The domestic homicide review, which I had to struggle to obtain, took five years and had no impact. A lengthy coroner’s hearing found death by suicide, despite huge evidence over a very traumatic four day period of family violence and shortcomings by multiple services.”

The mother told the meeting that for eight years she has “struggled against a system that ignores what is right in front of it”.

She said the suicide is homicide campaign was critical “because when someone dies by suicide after they’ve suffered domestic abuse, we have to investigate it for what it truly represents, which is homicide.

“We need to apply the laws we currently have effectively and it is not occurring at the moment, and we need to make perpetrators responsible for driving their victims to death.

“The statutes exist. We need the will, we need law enforcement to investigate properly. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute. We need the judiciary to understand that words and control can cause death equally to physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, led by a Labour MP, and attended by the safeguarding minister, the bereaved relatives again told their stories.

A parliamentary under-secretary informed the assembly: “Such fatalities are often dismissed as if they were their own choice, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the result of actually, somebody else’s violence, and these aren’t rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she stated. “Especially around homicide or unlawful killing, it is fragmented. It lacks statutory basis anyway, it has been developed with common law practices for generations, and it is no longer fit for purpose, quite frankly, given the society we currently live in.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be easy to fix. It is incredibly complex and challenging, especially when you consider the matter of homicide, but we acknowledge that it needs to be looked at.”

Prosecution Service Statement

A representative for the prosecution service commented: “Family violence is a terrible offense and our legal officers are actively advised to consider murder and manslaughter charges in self-inflicted death instances where there is a known context of family violence or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have previously charged a number of defendants for causing the death of a companion they abused, encompassing in cases which are ongoing.

“We are collaborating with police and other stakeholders to guarantee these kinds of offences are clearly recognized – so that we can hold offenders to justice for the complete scope of their wrongdoings.”