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Each self-inflicted death in which the deceased had endured domestic violence should be considered a potential homicide, as per calls from campaigners who seek to make perpetrators accountable for the devastating impact of their actions.

This move is essential because law enforcement are failing to bring perpetrators accountable in instances of suicide following domestic abuse.

“In case after case, there is systemic and structural failure, especially within the criminal justice system, to scrutinise these deaths with the seriousness they warrant,” remarked a leader of a campaign group at a landmark meeting in London earlier this week.

The meeting, organized by a group running a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” initiative to advocate for reform in the criminal justice system, brought together families who had lost loved ones to self-inflicted death following family violence.

Personal Stories of Loss

One mother lost her daughter her 23-year-old daughter in March 2023. Before her death, Chloe had informed her ex-boyfriend to authorities, submitting a two-hour video interview as proof about his conduct.

Following her passing, the individual was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and jailed for over three years. He was subsequently sentenced for an additional term after a second woman stepped up to report that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

In the wake of her loss, the mother decided to campaign for a legal change to bring perpetrators to justice; yet she then realized that regulations were already in place, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it was not a fresh legislation I required as current statutes were already there, and after learning how much my child had been let down previous to her taking her life by the authorities and many other agencies, they needed to fulfill their duties, and practices needed to change,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have found me and just a handful of us have had a conviction,” she added. “I was so shocked to see such a large number who have been battling 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

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

“Hannah was vibrant, she was loving,” she said. “She was full of promise, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mother to her two children, and she took her own life after two years in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her partner,” she explained.

“She was physically beaten, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and dismantled piece by piece until she was unable to envision a way forward. The individual who caused this went unpunished, because we call it self-inflicted death, we conclude the case and we move on.

“But I could not move on,” she remarked, “and I have not managed to let go. In truth, Hannah did not merely take her own life. She was killed. Her death was gradual and intentionally over a two year period, and when I went to the police, when I begged them to investigate 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 homicide review, which I had to fight for, required five years and had no impact. A lengthy coroner’s hearing found death by suicide, notwithstanding huge evidence over a very traumatic four day period of family violence and shortcomings by multiple services.”

The parent told the meeting that for a decade she has “been fighting a establishment that refuses to see what is right in front of it”.

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

“We must use the legislation we already possess properly and it is not occurring at the moment, and we need to hold abusers accountable for pushing their targets to suicide.

“We have the laws. 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 words and control can kill just as much as physical force and arms.”

Political Response

At a second meeting in the Parliament, led by a Labour MP, and attended by the safeguarding minister, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A junior minister told the meeting: “These deaths are often written off as if they were their own choice, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the result of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these are not rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we know that,” she stated. “Particularly around homicide or unlawful killing, it is fragmented. It lacks statutory basis anyway, it has been developed with common law practices for generations, 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 difficult, especially when you consider the issue of homicide, but we recognize that it requires examination.”

Legal Authority Comment

A representative for the legal body said: “Family violence is a terrible offense and our prosecutors are regularly instructed to evaluate murder and manslaughter charges in self-inflicted death instances where there is a known context of family violence or other manipulative conduct.

“We have in the past prosecuted a number of defendants for leading to the fatality of a partner they mistreated, encompassing in cases which are ongoing.

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