Each self-inflicted death where the victim had endured domestic violence should be considered a possible homicide, as per demands from campaigners who aim to make perpetrators accountable for the catastrophic impact of their behavior.
This move 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 criminal justice system, to examine these deaths with the gravity they deserve,” remarked a co-director of a campaign group at a significant meeting in Westminster recently.
The assembly, organized by a organization running a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” initiative to fight for reform in the legal framework, brought together families who had lost loved ones to suicide following family violence.
Sharon Holland experienced the death of her child Chloe Holland in spring 2023. Prior to her passing, the young woman had reported her ex-boyfriend to police, providing a two-hour video interview as evidence against him.
After her death, the perpetrator was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and imprisoned for 41 months. He was later jailed for an additional term after a another victim stepped up to disclose that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.
After Chloe’s death, the mother decided to campaign for a legal change to hold offenders to justice; yet she then realized that regulations were already in place, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.
“I concluded it wasn’t a fresh legislation I required as existing laws were already there, and after learning how much my daughter had been failed before her taking her life by the police and numerous services, they needed to do their job properly, and things needed to change,” she explained.
“Over 47 families have found me and just a handful of us have had a guilty verdict,” she added. “I was astonished to see so many families who have been battling the police and prosecution service for years and getting no justice for their child or brother or sister and didn’t have a voice in case it affected inquiries that were not progressing.”
Saskia Lightburn Richie’s child Hannah passed away in spring 2017, in what she called “the final act of violence” in a prolonged pattern of mistreatment.
“She was energetic, she was loving,” she said. “She had great potential, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mum to her kids, and she died by suicide after two years in a partnership where she was methodically broken down by her companion,” she said.
“She was physically beaten, she was psychologically tortured, she was controlled and dismantled piece by piece until she could not see a way forward. The individual who did this to her walked free, because we label it suicide, we conclude the case and we move on.
“Yet I was unable to continue,” she said, “and I have not managed to move on. Honestly, Hannah did not merely take her own life. She was killed. She was killed slowly and deliberately over a two year period, and when I approached the authorities, when I begged them to investigate what he had done to her, I was informed that there was nothing that they were able to take.
“There was no investigation into her passing. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to fight for, required five years and changed nothing. A four day inquest found death by suicide, notwithstanding substantial proof over a very traumatic four day period of family violence and shortcomings by multiple services.”
The mother informed the gathering that for a decade she has “been fighting a establishment that ignores what is obvious”.
She said the suicide is homicide movement was critical “since when an individual takes their own life after they’ve endured family violence, we have to examine it for what it truly represents, which is murder.
“We need to apply the laws we already possess effectively and it really isn’t happening at the moment, and we need to hold abusers accountable for pushing their targets to suicide.
“The statutes exist. We require determination, we need law enforcement to investigate properly. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to take legal action. We need judges to understand that verbal abuse and manipulation can cause death just as much as physical force and arms.”
At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, led by a opposition politician, and attended by the government official, the bereaved relatives again shared their experiences.
A junior minister informed the assembly: “These deaths are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they chose to do this, when, in truth, these were the result of actually, another person’s abuse, and these aren’t rare incidents.”
“Our law is broken, we are aware,” she stated. “Especially around homicide or manslaughter, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute regardless, it has been shaped with traditional legal customs for generations, and it is no longer fit for purpose, quite frankly, it’s the world we currently live in.
“I will not claim that it’s going to be easy to resolve. It is incredibly complex and difficult, especially when you look at the matter of murder, but we acknowledge that it requires examination.”
A spokesperson for the prosecution service commented: “Family violence is a terrible crime and our legal officers are actively advised to consider homicide allegations in self-inflicted death instances where there is a established background of family violence or other controlling or coercive behavior.
“We have previously charged a number of defendants for causing the death of a partner they mistreated, including in proceedings which are currently active.
“We are also working with law enforcement and other stakeholders to guarantee these kinds of offences are clearly recognized – so that we can hold offenders accountable for the complete scope of their crimes.”
Lena Hoffmann is a seasoned journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that matter, specializing in German current affairs and digital media trends.
