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Each self-inflicted death where the victim had endured domestic violence must be treated as a possible murder case, as per calls from advocates who aim to make perpetrators responsible for the catastrophic impact of their behavior.

This step is necessary because police and prosecutors are not doing enough to hold offenders to justice in instances of self-inflicted death following family violence.

“In case after case, there is systemic and structural failure, particularly within the criminal justice system, to examine these fatalities with the gravity they warrant,” remarked a co-director of a advocacy organization at a significant gathering in Westminster earlier this week.

The meeting, organized by a group leading a “Suicide is Homicide” campaign to fight for change in the criminal justice system, united relatives who had suffered bereavement to suicide following domestic abuse.

Personal Stories of Tragedy

Sharon Holland experienced the death of her child Chloe Holland in March 2023. Before her death, the young woman had informed her former partner to police, submitting a two-hour video interview 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 stepped up to disclose that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

After Chloe’s death, the mother chose to advocate for a new law to bring perpetrators accountable; yet she then discovered that laws were existing, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it was not a fresh legislation I required as current statutes were in place, and after finding out how much my child had been let down previous to her death by the authorities and numerous services, they had to fulfill their duties, and practices required reform,” she explained.

“Over 47 families 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 police and CPS for a long time and getting no justice for their offspring or brother or sister and could not speak out in case it impacted investigations that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

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

“She was energetic, she was loving,” she stated. “She was full of promise, and she was an exceptional, really loving mother to her two children, and she died by suicide after two years in a partnership where she was systematically destroyed by her partner,” she explained.

“She was physically beaten, she was mentally tormented, she was dominated and broken down piece by piece until she was unable to envision a path ahead. 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 remarked, “and I have not managed to let go. In truth, Hannah did not merely take her own life. She was murdered. She was killed slowly and intentionally over a two year period, and when I approached the authorities, 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 fight for, took five years and changed nothing. A lengthy coroner’s hearing determined self-inflicted death, despite huge evidence over a extremely distressing four day period of family violence and failings by various agencies.”

The mother told the meeting that for a decade she has “struggled against a establishment that ignores what is obvious”.

She said the suicide is homicide movement was critical “because when someone dies by suicide after they’ve suffered family violence, we have to investigate it for what it really is, which is homicide.

“We need to apply the laws 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.

“The statutes exist. We need the will, we need police to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the prosecution authority to take legal action. We need the judiciary to understand that verbal abuse and manipulation can kill equally to physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, led by a Labour MP, and including the government official, the grieving families again told their stories.

A junior minister told the meeting: “These deaths are often dismissed as if they were their own choice, they chose to do this, when, reality, these were the culmination of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these aren’t isolated stories.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she said. “Especially around murder or unlawful killing, it is piecemeal. It’s not written in statute regardless, it has been shaped 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 fix. It is incredibly complex and challenging, particularly when you consider the issue of homicide, but we acknowledge that it needs to be looked at.”

Legal Authority Comment

A spokesperson for the prosecution service commented: “Family violence is a heinous offense and our legal officers are actively advised to evaluate homicide allegations 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 mistreated, including in proceedings which are currently active.

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