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Each self-inflicted death in which the deceased had experienced abuse at home should be considered a possible murder case, according to demands from advocates who seek to make perpetrators accountable for the catastrophic consequences of their behavior.

This move is essential because law enforcement are not doing enough to bring perpetrators accountable in cases of suicide following family violence.

“In case after case, there is widespread breakdown, particularly within the criminal justice system, to examine these fatalities with the gravity they deserve,” remarked a co-director of a advocacy organization at a significant meeting in London earlier this week.

The meeting, arranged by a group running a “Suicide is Homicide” initiative to fight for reform in the criminal justice system, united relatives who had lost loved ones to self-inflicted death following domestic abuse.

Personal Stories of Loss

One mother lost her daughter her 23-year-old daughter in March 2023. Prior to her passing, Chloe had informed her ex-boyfriend to police, submitting a lengthy recorded statement as evidence against him.

After her death, the perpetrator was found guilty of manipulative and domineering conduct and jailed for over three years. He was later sentenced for an additional term after a another victim stepped up to disclose that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

In the wake of her loss, the mother chose to advocate for a new law to hold offenders accountable; yet she then discovered that regulations were existing, they just weren’t often being used to achieve convictions.

“I decided it was not a new law I needed as existing laws were in place, and after finding out how much my daughter had been let down previous to her taking her life by the police and many other agencies, they had to do their job properly, and things required reform,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and only four of us have had a conviction,” she continued. “I was so shocked to see so many families who have been battling the authorities and CPS for years and receiving no resolution for their offspring or sibling and could not speak out in case it affected investigations that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

One mother’s child Hannah died in May 2017, in what she described as “the final act of violence” in a prolonged pattern of mistreatment.

“Hannah was energetic, she was caring,” she said. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mum to her two children, and she took her own life after two years in a partnership where she was systematically destroyed by her companion,” she explained.

“She endured physical assaults, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and broken down piece by piece until she could not see a path ahead. The individual who did this to her walked free, because we call it self-inflicted death, we conclude the case and we move on.

“But I could not move on,” she said, “and I have not managed to let go. In truth, she didn’t just die by suicide. She was killed. Her death was gradual and deliberately over a two year period, and when I approached the authorities, when I begged them to look into what he had inflicted upon her, I was told that there was no action that they were able to take.

“There was no investigation into her death. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to struggle to obtain, required five years and changed nothing. A lengthy coroner’s hearing found self-inflicted death, notwithstanding substantial proof over a very traumatic four day period of family violence and shortcomings by multiple services.”

The mother informed the gathering that for eight years she has “struggled against a establishment that refuses to see what is obvious”.

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

“We need to use the legislation we currently have properly and it really isn’t happening at the present, and we need to make perpetrators responsible for driving their victims to death.

“We have the laws. We need the will, we need law enforcement to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the prosecution authority to take legal action. We need judges to understand that words and control can kill just as much as physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

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

A parliamentary under-secretary told the meeting: “Such fatalities are often written off as if they were their decision, they opted for this, when, in truth, these were the result of in fact, another person’s abuse, and these aren’t isolated stories.”

“Our law is broken, we are aware,” she said. “Especially around murder or manslaughter, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute regardless, it has been shaped with common law practices for centuries, and it is no longer fit for purpose, quite frankly, given the society we inhabit today.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be easy to fix. It is extremely complicated and challenging, particularly when you look at the issue of homicide, but we recognize that it requires examination.”

Prosecution Service Statement

A spokesperson for the legal body said: “Family violence is a terrible offense and our prosecutors are regularly instructed to evaluate homicide allegations in suicide cases where there is a known context of domestic abuse or other manipulative conduct.

“We have in the past prosecuted a several individuals for leading to the fatality of a partner they mistreated, including in proceedings which are ongoing.

“We are also working with law enforcement and other stakeholders to guarantee these kinds of offences are well-understood – so that we can bring perpetrators to justice for the complete scope of their wrongdoings.”