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Each self-inflicted death in which the deceased had endured abuse at home should be considered a potential homicide, as per demands from advocates who aim to hold abusers accountable for the devastating impact of their actions.

This move is necessary because law enforcement are not doing enough to hold offenders accountable in cases of self-inflicted death following domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is systemic and structural failure, particularly within the legal system, to scrutinise these fatalities with the gravity they deserve,” remarked a leader of a advocacy organization during a landmark gathering in London earlier this week.

The meeting, organized by a group leading a “Suicide is Homicide” campaign to fight for change in the legal framework, brought together families who had suffered bereavement to self-inflicted death after domestic abuse.

Personal Stories of Tragedy

Sharon Holland lost her daughter Chloe Holland in spring 2023. Before her death, the young woman had informed her ex-boyfriend to authorities, providing a two-hour video interview as proof against him.

Following her passing, the individual was convicted of manipulative and domineering conduct and jailed for over three years. He was later sentenced for three years and seven months after a second woman came forward to disclose that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

In the wake of her loss, the mother chose to advocate for a legal change to bring perpetrators to justice; yet she then realized that laws were existing, they just were rarely applied to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it wasn’t a fresh legislation I needed as current statutes were in place, and after finding out how much my daughter had been let down previous to her death by the police and numerous services, they needed to fulfill their duties, and things required reform,” she explained.

“More than four dozen relatives have contacted 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 battling the police and CPS for a long time and receiving no resolution for their offspring or sibling and didn’t have a voice in case it affected inquiries that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s child Hannah passed away in May 2017, in what she described as “the final act of violence” in a campaign of abuse.

“Hannah was energetic, she was loving,” she stated. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mum to her kids, 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 psychologically tortured, she was controlled and dismantled gradually until she was unable to envision a way forward. The individual who caused this walked free, because we call it self-inflicted death, we conclude the case and we proceed.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she remarked, “and I have not managed to move on. Honestly, she did not merely take her own life. She was killed. Her death was gradual and intentionally over a 24-month span, and when I approached the authorities, when I begged them to look into what he had done to her, I was told that there was nothing that they were able to take.

“No inquiry was conducted into her death. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to fight for, required five years and had no impact. A lengthy coroner’s hearing found self-inflicted death, notwithstanding huge evidence over a extremely distressing four day period of domestic abuse and shortcomings by various agencies.”

The mother informed the gathering that for a decade she has “been fighting a system that ignores what is obvious”.

She emphasized the suicide is homicide campaign was vital “since when someone dies by suicide after they’ve endured family violence, we have to examine it for what it truly represents, which is homicide.

“We need to use the legislation we already possess effectively and it really isn’t happening at the present, and we need to make perpetrators responsible for driving their victims to death.

“The statutes exist. We require determination, we need law enforcement to investigate properly. We need the prosecution authority to prosecute. We need the judiciary to understand that words and control can cause death equally to physical force and arms.”

Political Response

At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, led by a Labour MP, and including 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 decision, they chose to do this, when, reality, these were the result of in fact, another person’s abuse, and these are not rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she stated. “Especially around homicide or manslaughter, it is fragmented. It lacks statutory basis anyway, it has been shaped with common law practices for centuries, and it is no longer fit for purpose, quite frankly, it’s the world we inhabit today.

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

Legal Authority Comment

A spokesperson for the legal body commented: “Family violence is a heinous offense and our prosecutors are actively advised to evaluate homicide allegations in self-inflicted death instances where there is a established background of domestic abuse or other manipulative conduct.

“We have in the past prosecuted a several individuals for leading to the fatality of a companion they mistreated, including in cases which are ongoing.

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