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Each self-inflicted death in which the victim had experienced abuse at home must be treated as a possible homicide, as per calls from advocates who seek to make perpetrators responsible for the devastating impact of their actions.

This step is necessary because police and prosecutors are failing to hold offenders to justice in cases of self-inflicted death after domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is widespread breakdown, particularly within the legal system, to scrutinise these fatalities with the gravity they deserve,” remarked a co-director of a campaign group during a landmark meeting in Westminster recently.

The assembly, arranged by a organization leading a “Suicide is Homicide” campaign to fight for reform in the legal framework, united families who had suffered bereavement to self-inflicted death after domestic abuse.

Personal Stories of Loss

One mother experienced the death of her child her 23-year-old daughter in March 2023. Prior to her passing, the young woman had informed her ex-boyfriend to authorities, submitting a two-hour video interview as proof about his conduct.

Following her passing, the individual was found guilty of coercive and controlling behavior and jailed for 41 months. He was subsequently sentenced for three years and seven months after a another victim came forward to disclose that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

In the wake of her loss, the mother decided to campaign for a legal change to hold offenders accountable; however she then discovered that regulations were already in place, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it wasn’t a new law I needed as existing laws were already there, and after finding out how much my daughter had been failed before her death by the authorities and many other agencies, they had to fulfill their duties, and things needed to change,” she said.

“More than four dozen relatives have found me and just a handful of us have had a conviction,” she continued. “I was so shocked to see such a large number who have been fighting the authorities and CPS for a long time and receiving no resolution for their offspring or brother or sister and could not speak out in case it affected inquiries that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

One mother’s daughter Hannah died in spring 2017, in what she called “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“Hannah was energetic, she was loving,” she said. “She was full of promise, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mother to her kids, and she took her own life after 24 months in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her companion,” she said.

“She endured physical assaults, she was mentally tormented, she was dominated and dismantled piece by piece until she was unable to envision a path ahead. The man who caused this went unpunished, because we call it self-inflicted death, we close the file and we proceed.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she remarked, “and I haven’t been able to let go. In truth, Hannah didn’t just die by suicide. She was killed. She was killed slowly and intentionally over a two year period, and when I went to the police, when I pleaded with them to look into what he had inflicted upon her, I was told that there was no action that they were able to take.

“No inquiry was conducted into her death. The domestic homicide review, which I had to fight for, required five years and had no impact. A four day inquest found death by suicide, despite huge evidence over a extremely distressing multi-day session of family violence and failings by various agencies.”

The parent told the meeting that for eight years she has “been fighting a establishment that ignores what is obvious”.

She emphasized the suicide is homicide campaign was vital “since when an individual dies by suicide after they’ve endured family violence, we have to examine it for what it really is, which is murder.

“We need to apply the laws we already possess properly 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 require determination, we need law enforcement to investigate properly. We need the prosecution authority to prosecute. We need the judiciary to understand that words and control can cause death just as much as hands and weapons.”

Government Reaction

At a second meeting in the Parliament, chaired by a opposition politician, and including the safeguarding minister, the bereaved relatives again shared their experiences.

A parliamentary under-secretary told the meeting: “Such fatalities are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the result of in fact, another person’s abuse, and these are not rare incidents.”

“Our law is broken, we know that,” she said. “Particularly around homicide or unlawful killing, it is fragmented. It lacks statutory basis regardless, it has been developed with common law practices for generations, and it is no longer fit for purpose, honestly, given the society we inhabit today.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be simple to resolve. It is incredibly complex and difficult, particularly when you look at the matter of homicide, but we recognize that it needs to be looked at.”

Legal Authority Comment

A spokesperson for the prosecution service commented: “Domestic abuse is a terrible offense and our prosecutors are actively advised to consider homicide allegations in self-inflicted death instances where there is a established background of domestic abuse or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have previously charged a several individuals for causing the death of a partner they mistreated, encompassing in proceedings which are currently active.

“We are collaborating with law enforcement and other parties to guarantee these types of crimes are well-understood – so that we can bring perpetrators accountable for the complete scope of their wrongdoings.”