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Each self-inflicted death where the deceased had endured domestic violence should be considered a possible murder case, as per calls from advocates who aim to hold abusers accountable for the devastating consequences of their behavior.

This move is necessary because police and prosecutors are not doing enough to bring perpetrators accountable in cases of suicide following domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is systemic and structural failure, particularly within the criminal justice system, to scrutinise these deaths 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 leading a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” initiative to fight for change in the legal framework, brought together relatives who had suffered bereavement to self-inflicted death following domestic abuse.

Individual Accounts of Loss

One mother lost her daughter her 23-year-old daughter in spring 2023. Before her death, Chloe had reported her former partner to authorities, providing a lengthy recorded statement as evidence against him.

After her death, the individual was found guilty of manipulative and domineering conduct and imprisoned for 41 months. He was later jailed for an additional term after a another victim stepped up to disclose that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

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

“I concluded it wasn’t a fresh legislation I required as current statutes were in place, and after finding out how much my child had been let down before her death by the authorities and numerous services, they had to fulfill their duties, and practices needed to change,” she explained.

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

Further Heartbreaking Account

One mother’s daughter Hannah passed away in spring 2017, in what she described as “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“She was vibrant, she was caring,” she said. “She was full of promise, and she was an exceptional, really loving mother to her kids, and she died by suicide after 24 months in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her partner,” she said.

“She endured physical assaults, she was psychologically tortured, she was controlled and dismantled gradually until she could not see a way forward. The man who did this to her walked free, because we call it self-inflicted death, we conclude the case and we proceed.

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

“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 lengthy coroner’s hearing found death by suicide, despite huge evidence over a extremely distressing multi-day session of family violence 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 said the self-inflicted death is murder campaign was vital “because when someone dies by suicide after they’ve endured family violence, we have to examine it for what it really is, which is homicide.

“We need to use the legislation we already possess properly 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 need the will, we need law enforcement to investigate properly. We need the prosecution authority to take legal action. We need judges to recognize that verbal abuse and manipulation can cause death equally to hands and weapons.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, chaired by a Labour MP, and attended by the government official, 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 own choice, they opted for this, when, reality, these were the result of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these aren’t rare incidents.”

“Our law is broken, we are aware,” she said. “Particularly around murder or unlawful killing, it is piecemeal. It lacks statutory basis anyway, it has been developed with traditional legal customs for centuries, and it is outdated, honestly, it’s the world we currently live in.

“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 issue of murder, but we recognize that it requires examination.”

Prosecution Service Statement

A spokesperson for the legal body commented: “Domestic abuse is a heinous offense and our prosecutors are actively advised to evaluate homicide allegations in suicide cases where there is a known context of family violence or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have previously charged a number of defendants for leading to the fatality of a companion they abused, encompassing in proceedings which are currently active.

“We are also working with law enforcement and other stakeholders to guarantee these kinds of offences are clearly recognized – so that we can bring perpetrators accountable for the full extent of their crimes.”