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Each self-inflicted death where the victim 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 impact of their actions.

This step is necessary because law enforcement are not doing enough to bring perpetrators accountable in instances of suicide following family violence.

“In case after case, there is systemic and structural failure, especially within the legal system, to scrutinise these fatalities with the seriousness they deserve,” remarked a co-director of a campaign group at a landmark gathering in London earlier this week.

The assembly, organized by a organization leading a “Suicide is Homicide” initiative to advocate for change in the legal framework, united relatives who had lost loved ones to self-inflicted death after family violence.

Personal Stories of Tragedy

One mother experienced the death of her child Chloe Holland in spring 2023. Before her death, the young woman had reported her ex-boyfriend to authorities, submitting a two-hour video interview as proof against him.

Following her passing, the individual was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and imprisoned for 41 months. He was subsequently 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.

In the wake of her loss, the mother decided to campaign for a new law to hold offenders to justice; however she then discovered that laws were already in place, they just weren’t often being used to achieve convictions.

“I concluded it wasn’t a new law I required as existing laws were in place, and after finding out how much my child had been let down previous to her taking her life by the police and many other agencies, they had to do their job properly, and practices needed to change,” she said.

“Over 47 families have found me and only four of us have had a conviction,” she added. “I was astonished to see so many families who have been battling the authorities and prosecution service for a long time and getting no justice for their offspring or brother or sister and could not speak out in case it impacted inquiries that were not progressing.”

Further Heartbreaking Account

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s daughter Hannah died in spring 2017, in what she called “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“Hannah was energetic, she was caring,” she stated. “She was full of promise, and she was an exceptional, 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 endured physical assaults, she was mentally tormented, she was dominated and broken down piece by piece until she was unable to envision a path ahead. The individual who caused this walked free, because we call it suicide, we close the file and we move on.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she said, “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 two year period, and when I approached the authorities, when I begged them to investigate what he had inflicted upon her, I was told that there was no action that they were able to take.

“There was no investigation into her death. The domestic homicide review, which I had to fight for, required five years and changed nothing. A four day inquest found death by suicide, despite substantial proof over a extremely distressing four day period of domestic abuse and failings by various agencies.”

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

She said the suicide is homicide campaign was vital “because when an individual takes their own life after they’ve endured family violence, we have to examine it for what it really is, which is murder.

“We must apply the laws we currently have properly and it is not occurring at the present, 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 physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the Parliament, chaired by a opposition politician, and including the safeguarding minister, the grieving families again told their stories.

A parliamentary under-secretary informed the assembly: “Such fatalities are often written off as if they were their own choice, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the result of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these are not rare incidents.”

“Our law is broken, we are aware,” she stated. “Particularly around homicide or manslaughter, it is piecemeal. It’s not written in statute regardless, it has been shaped with traditional legal customs for centuries, and it is outdated, quite frankly, given the society we inhabit today.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be easy to resolve. It is incredibly complex and difficult, particularly when you consider the issue of murder, but we recognize that it requires examination.”

Legal Authority Comment

A spokesperson for the prosecution service said: “Family violence is a terrible crime and our prosecutors are actively advised to consider 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, 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 full extent of their crimes.”