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

This move is essential because law enforcement are failing to bring perpetrators to justice in instances of suicide after 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 deserve,” remarked a leader of a advocacy organization at a significant gathering in London recently.

The assembly, arranged by a organization leading a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” campaign to advocate for change in the criminal justice system, brought together relatives who had lost loved ones to suicide after domestic abuse.

Personal Stories of Tragedy

One mother lost her daughter her 23-year-old daughter in spring 2023. Before her death, Chloe had reported her ex-boyfriend to authorities, submitting a two-hour video interview as evidence against him.

Following her passing, the perpetrator was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and jailed for 41 months. He was later sentenced for three years and seven months after a second woman stepped up to disclose that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

After Chloe’s death, the parent decided to campaign for a legal change to bring perpetrators accountable; yet she then discovered that laws were existing, they just were rarely applied to secure prosecutions.

“I concluded it was not a new law I required as current statutes were in place, and after learning how much my child had been failed before her death by the police and numerous services, they needed to fulfill their duties, and things required reform,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and only four of us have had a guilty verdict,” she continued. “I was so shocked to see so many families who have been battling the police and CPS for years 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 daughter her 30-year-old daughter died in May 2017, in what she described as “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“She was energetic, she was loving,” she said. “She was full of promise, and she was an amazing, really loving mum to her two children, and she took her own life after 24 months in a partnership where she was systematically destroyed by her partner,” she explained.

“She endured physical assaults, she was psychologically tortured, she was controlled and broken down 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.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she remarked, “and I haven’t been able to move on. In truth, Hannah didn’t just die by suicide. 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 nothing that they could do.

“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 determined death by suicide, notwithstanding huge evidence over a very traumatic four day period of family violence and shortcomings by various agencies.”

The mother told the meeting that for a decade she has “struggled against a system that refuses to see what is right in front of it”.

She emphasized the suicide is homicide movement was vital “since when someone dies by suicide after they’ve suffered domestic abuse, we have to examine it for what it really is, which is murder.

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

“The statutes exist. We need the will, we need police to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to take legal action. We need judges to understand that verbal abuse and manipulation can kill equally to hands and weapons.”

Political Response

At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, led by a Labour MP, and including the safeguarding minister, the bereaved relatives again shared their experiences.

A parliamentary under-secretary informed the assembly: “Such fatalities are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they opted for this, when, in truth, these were the result of actually, another person’s abuse, and these are not rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she stated. “Particularly around homicide or manslaughter, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute regardless, it has been developed with traditional legal customs for centuries, and it is no longer fit for purpose, quite frankly, it’s the world we currently live in.

“I will not claim that it’s going to be simple to resolve. It is incredibly complex and challenging, particularly when you consider the matter of murder, but we acknowledge that it needs to be looked at.”

Prosecution Service Statement

A representative for the prosecution service commented: “Domestic abuse is a heinous offense and our prosecutors are actively advised to consider homicide allegations in self-inflicted death instances where there is a known context of domestic abuse or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have previously charged a number of defendants for causing the death of a partner they mistreated, including in cases which are ongoing.

“We are collaborating with police and other parties to ensure these kinds of offences are well-understood – so that we can hold offenders to justice for the complete scope of their crimes.”