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Each self-inflicted death in which the deceased had endured domestic violence must be treated as a possible homicide, as per calls from campaigners who aim to make perpetrators responsible for the devastating impact of their actions.

This move is necessary because law enforcement are failing to bring perpetrators accountable in instances of self-inflicted death after domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is systemic and structural failure, particularly within the legal system, to examine these deaths with the gravity they warrant,” remarked a co-director of a campaign group at a significant gathering in London recently.

The assembly, arranged by a group leading a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” initiative to advocate for reform in the criminal justice system, united families who had lost loved ones to self-inflicted death following domestic abuse.

Personal Stories of Loss

One mother lost her daughter her 23-year-old daughter in March 2023. Prior to her passing, Chloe had reported her former partner to police, providing a two-hour video interview as evidence against him.

After her death, the individual was convicted of manipulative and domineering conduct and imprisoned for over three years. He was later jailed for three years and seven months after a another victim came forward to report that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

After Chloe’s death, the parent decided to campaign for a legal change to hold offenders accountable; however she then realized that laws were existing, they just were rarely applied to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it wasn’t a fresh legislation I required as existing laws were in place, and after finding out how much my child had been failed previous to her taking her life by the authorities and numerous services, they had to do their job properly, and things required reform,” she said.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and only four of us have had a conviction,” 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 brother or sister and could not speak out in case it affected investigations that were not progressing.”

Further Heartbreaking Account

Saskia Lightburn Richie’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 energetic, she was caring,” she stated. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mother to her two children, and she took her own life after 24 months in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her companion,” she said.

“She was physically beaten, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and dismantled gradually until she could not see a path ahead. The individual who caused this walked free, because we call it self-inflicted death, we conclude the case and we move on.

“But I could not move on,” she said, “and I have not managed to let go. Honestly, Hannah didn’t just die by suicide. She was killed. Her death was gradual and deliberately over a 24-month span, and when I went to the police, when I pleaded with them to investigate what he had done to her, I was informed that there was nothing that they could do.

“No inquiry was conducted into her death. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to struggle to obtain, required five years and changed nothing. A four day inquest determined self-inflicted death, notwithstanding substantial proof over a extremely distressing multi-day session of family violence and shortcomings by multiple services.”

The mother informed the gathering that for a decade she has “struggled against a establishment that ignores what is right in front of it”.

She said the suicide is homicide campaign 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 properly and it is not occurring at the moment, and we need to make perpetrators responsible for driving their victims to death.

“The statutes exist. We need the will, we need police to investigate properly. We need the prosecution authority to take legal action. We need the judiciary to understand that words and control can cause death just as much as hands and weapons.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the Parliament, chaired by a Labour MP, and attended by the government official, the grieving families again told their stories.

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

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she said. “Particularly around homicide or manslaughter, it is fragmented. It lacks statutory basis regardless, it has been shaped with common law practices for centuries, and it is outdated, quite frankly, given the society we inhabit today.

“I will not claim that it’s going to be easy to resolve. It is extremely complicated and difficult, particularly when you consider the matter of homicide, but we acknowledge that it needs to be looked at.”

Legal Authority Comment

A representative for the legal body said: “Family violence is a heinous crime and our prosecutors are regularly instructed to evaluate murder and manslaughter charges in suicide cases where there is a established background of family violence or other controlling or coercive behavior.

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

“We are also working with police and other parties to ensure these types of crimes are well-understood – so that we can hold offenders accountable for the full extent of their crimes.”