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Each self-inflicted death where the deceased had experienced domestic violence must be treated as a possible homicide, according to calls from campaigners who aim to hold abusers accountable for the devastating consequences of their actions.

This step is essential because police and prosecutors are failing to hold offenders to justice in instances of suicide after domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is systemic and structural failure, particularly within the criminal justice system, to examine these deaths with the gravity they deserve,” stated a co-director of a campaign group at a significant gathering in Westminster recently.

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

Personal Stories of Loss

Sharon Holland experienced the death of her child her 23-year-old daughter in March 2023. Before her death, the young woman had informed her ex-boyfriend to authorities, providing a two-hour video interview as proof about his conduct.

After her death, the individual was found guilty of coercive and controlling behavior and jailed for over three years. He was later sentenced for three years and seven months after a another victim stepped up to disclose 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 accountable; yet she then discovered that regulations were existing, they just were rarely applied to secure prosecutions.

“I concluded it wasn’t a new law I required as current statutes were already there, and after learning how much my child had been failed before her taking her life by the authorities and many other agencies, they needed to fulfill their duties, and things needed to change,” she said.

“Over 47 families have found me and only four of us have had a guilty verdict,” she continued. “I was astonished to see such a large number who have been fighting the authorities and prosecution service for years and getting no justice for their child or sibling and didn’t have a voice in case it affected inquiries that weren’t possibly going anywhere.”

Another Tragic Case

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s daughter her 30-year-old daughter died in spring 2017, in what she described as “the ultimate abusive action” in a prolonged pattern of mistreatment.

“Hannah was energetic, she was loving,” she said. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mum to her kids, and she took her own life after 24 months in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her partner,” she explained.

“She was physically beaten, she was psychologically tortured, she was controlled and broken down piece by piece until she could not see a path ahead. The man who did this to her walked free, because we label it suicide, we close the file and we proceed.

“But I could not move on,” she said, “and I haven’t been able to let go. Honestly, Hannah didn’t just die by suicide. She was murdered. She was killed slowly and deliberately over a 24-month span, and when I approached the authorities, when I begged them to look into what he had inflicted upon her, I was informed that there was no action that they were able to take.

“No inquiry was conducted into her death. The domestic homicide review, which I had to fight for, required five years and changed nothing. A four day inquest determined death by suicide, despite huge evidence over a very traumatic four day period of family violence and shortcomings by various agencies.”

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

She emphasized the self-inflicted death is murder movement was vital “because when someone dies by suicide after they’ve suffered domestic abuse, we have to investigate 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 moment, and we need to make perpetrators responsible for pushing their targets to suicide.

“We have the laws. We require determination, we need police to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the prosecution authority to take legal action. 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 Parliament, led by a Labour MP, and attended by the government official, the grieving families 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, reality, these were the culmination of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these aren’t rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she stated. “Especially around homicide or unlawful killing, it is piecemeal. It’s not written in statute anyway, it has been developed with traditional legal customs for centuries, and it is no longer fit for purpose, honestly, it’s the world 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 acknowledge that it needs to be looked at.”

Prosecution Service Statement

A representative for the legal body commented: “Family violence is a heinous crime and our legal officers are actively advised to evaluate murder and manslaughter charges in suicide cases where there is a established background of family violence or other manipulative conduct.

“We have in the past prosecuted a several individuals for causing the death of a companion they mistreated, including in cases which are currently active.

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