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Each self-inflicted death where the deceased had endured abuse at home should be treated as a potential homicide, as per calls from campaigners who aim to make perpetrators responsible for the devastating consequences of their behavior.

This step is essential because police and prosecutors are not doing enough to bring perpetrators to justice in instances of self-inflicted death after domestic abuse.

“In case after case, there is systemic and structural failure, especially within the criminal justice system, to scrutinise these fatalities with the seriousness they warrant,” remarked a co-director of a campaign group during a significant gathering in London earlier this week.

The meeting, organized by a group leading a “Suicide is Homicide” campaign to fight for reform in the criminal justice system, brought together relatives who had lost loved ones to self-inflicted death after family violence.

Personal Stories of Tragedy

Sharon Holland lost her daughter Chloe Holland in March 2023. Before her death, Chloe had reported her former partner to police, submitting a lengthy recorded statement as proof about his conduct.

Following her passing, the individual was convicted of manipulative and domineering conduct and imprisoned for over three years. He was later jailed for three years and seven months after a second woman stepped up to report that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

In the wake of her loss, the parent chose to advocate for a legal change to hold offenders accountable; yet she then discovered that laws were existing, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.

“I concluded it wasn’t a new law I needed as existing laws were in place, and after learning how much my daughter had been let down before her taking her life by the authorities and many other agencies, they had to fulfill their duties, and things required reform,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and just a handful of us have had a guilty verdict,” she added. “I was astonished to see such a large number who have been fighting the authorities and prosecution service for years and getting no justice for their offspring or sibling and didn’t have a voice in case it impacted inquiries that weren’t possibly going anywhere.”

Further Heartbreaking Account

One mother’s daughter her 30-year-old daughter died in May 2017, in what she described as “the ultimate abusive action” in a prolonged pattern of mistreatment.

“Hannah was vibrant, she was loving,” she stated. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mum to her kids, and she took her own life after two years in a relationship where she was systematically destroyed by her partner,” she explained.

“She was physically beaten, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and dismantled gradually until she was unable to envision a path ahead. The individual who caused this walked free, because we call it suicide, we close the file and we move on.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she remarked, “and I haven’t been able to move on. Honestly, 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 pleaded with them to look into what he had inflicted upon her, I was told that there was nothing that they were able to take.

“There was no investigation into her death. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to fight for, took five years and had no impact. A four day inquest determined death by suicide, notwithstanding substantial proof over a extremely distressing four day period of family violence and shortcomings by multiple services.”

The mother told the meeting that for eight years she has “been fighting a establishment that refuses to see what is right in front of it”.

She said the self-inflicted death is murder campaign was vital “since when an individual takes their own life after they’ve suffered domestic abuse, we have to investigate it for what it really is, which is murder.

“We must use the legislation we currently have effectively and it really isn’t happening at the moment, and we need to hold abusers accountable for driving their victims to death.

“We have the laws. We need the will, we need police to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the prosecution authority to prosecute. We need the judiciary to understand that verbal abuse and manipulation can kill equally to hands and weapons.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the Parliament, led by a opposition politician, and including the safeguarding minister, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A parliamentary under-secretary informed the assembly: “These deaths are often written off as if they were their decision, they opted for this, when, in truth, these were the culmination of actually, somebody else’s violence, and these aren’t isolated stories.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she stated. “Particularly around murder or unlawful killing, it is piecemeal. It lacks statutory basis anyway, it has been developed with common law practices for generations, and it is outdated, honestly, given the society we inhabit today.

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

Prosecution Service Statement

A spokesperson for the prosecution service commented: “Family violence is a terrible offense and our prosecutors are actively advised to consider homicide allegations in suicide cases where there is a known context of family violence or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have in the past prosecuted a several individuals for causing the death of a partner they mistreated, encompassing in proceedings which are ongoing.

“We are collaborating with police and other parties to guarantee these types of crimes are clearly recognized – so that we can bring perpetrators accountable for the complete scope of their wrongdoings.”