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Each self-inflicted death where the deceased had experienced domestic violence should be considered a potential homicide, according to demands from advocates who aim to make perpetrators accountable for the devastating consequences of their behavior.

This step is necessary because police and prosecutors are failing to bring perpetrators to justice in instances of suicide after family violence.

“In case after case, there is systemic and structural failure, especially within the criminal justice system, to examine these deaths with the seriousness they deserve,” stated a leader of a campaign group during a landmark gathering in Westminster earlier this week.

The assembly, organized by a organization leading a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” initiative to fight for change 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 spring 2023. Before her death, Chloe had reported her ex-boyfriend to authorities, providing a two-hour video interview as proof against him.

After her death, the perpetrator was found guilty of coercive and controlling behavior and jailed for 41 months. He was later sentenced for an additional term after a another victim stepped up to report that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

In the wake of her loss, the parent chose to advocate for a new law to hold offenders accountable; however she then discovered that regulations were existing, they just were rarely applied to achieve convictions.

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

“More than four dozen relatives have contacted 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 prosecution service for years and receiving no resolution for their child or brother or sister and could not speak out in case it impacted inquiries that weren’t possibly going anywhere.”

Another Tragic Case

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s child Hannah passed away in spring 2017, in what she described as “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“Hannah was vibrant, she was caring,” she stated. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, really loving mum to her two children, and she died by suicide after 24 months in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her companion,” she explained.

“She endured physical assaults, she was mentally tormented, she was dominated and dismantled piece by piece until she could not see a way forward. The man who caused this went unpunished, because we call it suicide, we close the file and we move on.

“But I could not move on,” she remarked, “and I haven’t been able to let go. Honestly, 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 could do.

“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, despite substantial proof over a extremely distressing multi-day session of family violence and shortcomings by multiple services.”

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

She said the suicide is homicide movement was critical “since when someone takes their own life after they’ve suffered family violence, we have to examine it for what it really is, which is murder.

“We must use the legislation we already possess effectively and it really isn’t happening at the present, and we need to make perpetrators responsible for pushing their targets to suicide.

“The statutes exist. We need the will, we need law enforcement to investigate properly. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute. We need the judiciary to understand that words and control can kill just as much as physical force and arms.”

Political Response

At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, led 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 dismissed as if they were their own choice, they opted for this, when, in truth, these were the result of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these are not isolated stories.”

“The legal system is flawed, we know that,” she said. “Especially around murder or unlawful killing, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute anyway, it has been shaped with common law practices for generations, and it is outdated, quite frankly, it’s the world we currently live in.

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

Prosecution Service Statement

A spokesperson for the legal body commented: “Domestic abuse is a terrible crime 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 number of defendants for causing the death of a companion they abused, encompassing in cases which are currently active.

“We are collaborating with law enforcement and other stakeholders to guarantee these kinds of offences are well-understood – so that we can hold offenders accountable for the full extent of their crimes.”