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Each self-inflicted death in which the victim had endured domestic violence should be treated as a potential homicide, according to demands from advocates who aim to make perpetrators responsible for the catastrophic 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 family violence.

“Time and again, there is widespread breakdown, especially within the criminal justice system, to examine these deaths with the gravity they warrant,” remarked a leader of a advocacy organization during a landmark gathering in London earlier this week.

The assembly, arranged by a group leading a “Suicide is Homicide” campaign to advocate for reform in the legal framework, brought together relatives who had lost loved ones to suicide following family violence.

Individual Accounts of Tragedy

Sharon Holland lost her daughter Chloe Holland in spring 2023. Before her death, Chloe had informed her former partner to authorities, providing a lengthy recorded statement as evidence against him.

Following her passing, the perpetrator was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and imprisoned for over three years. He was subsequently sentenced for an additional term after a another victim came forward 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 to justice; however she then discovered that regulations were existing, they just weren’t often being used to achieve convictions.

“I concluded it wasn’t a fresh legislation I needed as current statutes were in place, and after finding out how much my daughter had been failed before her death by the police and many other agencies, they had to fulfill their duties, and practices required reform,” she said.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and just a handful of us have had a conviction,” she continued. “I was so shocked to see so many families who have been battling the authorities and prosecution service for a long time and receiving no resolution for their offspring or brother or sister and could not speak out in case it affected investigations that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

One mother’s child her 30-year-old daughter died in spring 2017, in what she called “the final act of violence” in a prolonged pattern of mistreatment.

“Hannah was vibrant, she was caring,” she said. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mum to her two children, and she died by suicide after 24 months in a partnership where she was methodically broken down by her companion,” she explained.

“She endured physical assaults, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and dismantled piece by piece until she could not see a way forward. The individual who did this to her walked free, because we call it self-inflicted death, we conclude the case and we move on.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she said, “and I haven’t been able to move on. In truth, she didn’t just die by suicide. She was killed. She was killed slowly and intentionally over a 24-month span, and when I approached the authorities, when I pleaded with them to investigate what he had inflicted upon her, I was informed that there was nothing that they could do.

“There was no investigation into her passing. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to fight for, took five years and had no impact. A lengthy coroner’s hearing determined self-inflicted death, notwithstanding huge evidence over a extremely distressing four day period of family violence and failings by various agencies.”

The parent informed the gathering that for eight years she has “struggled against a system that ignores what is right in front of it”.

She said the suicide is homicide movement was critical “since when someone takes their own life after they’ve endured domestic abuse, we have to examine it for what it really is, which is homicide.

“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 driving their victims to death.

“The statutes exist. We require determination, we need police to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the prosecution authority to prosecute. We need the judiciary to understand that words and control can kill equally to hands and weapons.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the Parliament, chaired by a opposition politician, and including the government official, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A parliamentary under-secretary told the meeting: “These deaths are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the culmination of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these are not isolated stories.”

“Our law is broken, we are aware,” she said. “Especially around homicide or manslaughter, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute anyway, it has been developed with common law practices for generations, and it is outdated, honestly, given the society we currently live in.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be simple to fix. 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 prosecution service commented: “Family violence is a heinous crime and our prosecutors are actively advised to evaluate murder and manslaughter charges in self-inflicted death instances where there is a established background of domestic abuse or other controlling or coercive behavior.

“We have previously charged 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 police and other stakeholders to ensure these kinds of offences are clearly recognized – so that we can bring perpetrators to justice for the complete scope of their crimes.”