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Each self-inflicted death in which the victim had experienced abuse at home should be considered a potential homicide, according to calls from advocates who aim to hold abusers accountable for the devastating consequences of their actions.

This move is necessary because police and prosecutors are failing to bring perpetrators accountable in cases of suicide after domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is widespread breakdown, particularly within the criminal justice system, to scrutinise these fatalities with the seriousness they warrant,” stated a co-director of a advocacy organization at a significant meeting in Westminster recently.

The assembly, arranged by a group leading a “Suicide is Homicide” campaign to fight for change in the legal framework, united families who had lost loved ones to suicide following domestic abuse.

Individual Accounts of Tragedy

One mother experienced the death of her child her 23-year-old daughter in March 2023. Before her death, the young woman had reported her ex-boyfriend to police, providing a two-hour video interview as proof against him.

After her death, the individual was found guilty of coercive and controlling behavior and jailed for 41 months. He was later sentenced for three years and seven months after a another victim came forward to report that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

After Chloe’s death, the parent decided to campaign for a new law to bring perpetrators to justice; however she then discovered that laws were already in place, they just were rarely applied to secure prosecutions.

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

“More than four dozen relatives have found me and only four of us have had a guilty verdict,” she continued. “I was astonished to see such a large number who have been battling the police and prosecution service for a long time and getting no justice for their child or brother or sister and could not speak out in case it affected inquiries that were not progressing.”

Further Heartbreaking Account

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s child Hannah passed away in May 2017, in what she called “the final act of violence” in a prolonged pattern of mistreatment.

“Hannah was vibrant, she was caring,” she said. “She was full of promise, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mum to her kids, and she died by suicide after two years in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her companion,” she said.

“She endured physical assaults, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and dismantled piece by piece until she was unable to envision a way forward. The individual who did this to her went unpunished, because we label it suicide, we close the file and we proceed.

“But I could not move on,” she remarked, “and I have not managed to let go. In truth, she did not merely take her own life. She was murdered. Her death was gradual and intentionally over a two year period, and when I approached the authorities, when I pleaded with them to look into what he had done to her, I was told that there was no action that they could do.

“There was no investigation into her passing. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to fight for, required five years and changed nothing. A four day inquest determined death by suicide, despite huge evidence over a very traumatic four day period of domestic abuse and failings by multiple services.”

The parent informed the gathering that for a decade she has “struggled against a establishment that ignores what is right in front of it”.

She emphasized the self-inflicted death is murder movement was vital “because when someone takes their own life after they’ve suffered family violence, we have to investigate it for what it really is, which is homicide.

“We need to use the legislation we already possess effectively and it really isn’t happening at the moment, and we need to hold abusers accountable for pushing their targets to suicide.

“The statutes exist. We require determination, we need law enforcement to investigate properly. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to take legal action. We need the judiciary to recognize that verbal abuse and manipulation can kill just as much as physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the Parliament, led by a Labour MP, and attended by the safeguarding minister, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A parliamentary under-secretary told the meeting: “These deaths are often written off as if they were their decision, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the result of actually, another person’s abuse, and these aren’t isolated stories.”

“The legal system is flawed, we know that,” she stated. “Especially around homicide or unlawful killing, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute regardless, it has been shaped with common law practices for centuries, and it is outdated, 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 incredibly complex and difficult, especially when you look at the matter of homicide, but we recognize that it requires examination.”

Legal Authority Comment

A spokesperson for the prosecution service commented: “Family violence is a heinous crime 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 in the past prosecuted a several individuals for leading to the fatality of a companion they abused, including in proceedings which are currently active.

“We are also working with police and other stakeholders to guarantee these types of crimes are clearly recognized – so that we can hold offenders to justice for the full extent of their crimes.”