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Each self-inflicted death where the victim had experienced domestic violence should be treated as a potential murder case, according to calls from campaigners who aim to make perpetrators accountable for the devastating consequences of their behavior.

This move is essential because law enforcement are failing to hold offenders accountable in cases of self-inflicted death after family violence.

“Time and again, there is widespread breakdown, particularly within the legal system, to scrutinise these deaths with the gravity they warrant,” stated a leader of a campaign group at a significant gathering in Westminster recently.

The assembly, organized by a group running a “Suicide is Homicide” campaign to fight for reform in the criminal justice system, united relatives who had suffered bereavement to self-inflicted death following domestic abuse.

Individual Accounts of Tragedy

One mother lost her daughter Chloe Holland in spring 2023. Before her death, Chloe had reported her ex-boyfriend to police, providing a two-hour video interview as evidence about his conduct.

After her death, the individual 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 stepped up to report that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

After Chloe’s death, the mother decided to campaign for a legal change to bring perpetrators to justice; yet she then realized that regulations were already in place, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it was not a new law I required as current statutes were already there, and after finding out how much my daughter had been failed previous to her death by the authorities and many other agencies, they had to do their job properly, and things needed to change,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have found 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 years and receiving no resolution for their child or sibling and didn’t have a voice in case it impacted inquiries that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

One mother’s daughter Hannah died in May 2017, in what she called “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“She was energetic, she was loving,” she stated. “She was full of promise, and she was an amazing, deeply devoted mum to her kids, and she died by suicide after two years in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her companion,” she said.

“She endured physical assaults, she was mentally tormented, she was controlled and dismantled piece by piece until she was unable to envision a way forward. The individual who caused this walked free, because we label it self-inflicted death, we close the file and we move on.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she remarked, “and I have not managed to let go. Honestly, she didn’t just die by suicide. She was killed. She was killed slowly and deliberately over a 24-month span, and when I went to the police, when I pleaded with them to look into what he had done to her, I was told that there was nothing that they were able to take.

“There was no investigation into her death. The domestic homicide review, which I had to struggle to obtain, took five years and changed nothing. A four day inquest determined death by suicide, notwithstanding substantial proof over a very traumatic four day period of family violence and shortcomings by various agencies.”

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

She said the self-inflicted death is murder movement was vital “since when someone takes their own life after they’ve endured domestic abuse, we have to investigate it for what it truly represents, which is homicide.

“We must apply the laws we currently have effectively and it really isn’t happening at the moment, and we need to make perpetrators responsible for driving their victims to death.

“We have the laws. We need the will, we need police to investigate properly. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to take legal action. We need judges to recognize that words and control can cause death just as much as hands and weapons.”

Political Response

At a second meeting in the House of Commons, led by a opposition politician, and attended by the safeguarding minister, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A parliamentary under-secretary informed the assembly: “These deaths are often dismissed as if they were their decision, they opted for this, when, reality, these were the culmination of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these are not isolated stories.”

“The legal system is flawed, we know that,” she stated. “Especially around murder or manslaughter, it is piecemeal. It’s not written in statute anyway, it has been shaped with traditional legal customs for generations, and it is outdated, honestly, given the society we inhabit today.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be simple to fix. It is extremely complicated and challenging, especially when you consider the issue of murder, but we acknowledge that it needs to be looked at.”

Legal Authority Comment

A representative for the legal body said: “Domestic abuse is a heinous offense and our legal officers are actively advised to evaluate homicide allegations in suicide cases where there is a established background of domestic abuse 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 ongoing.

“We are collaborating with police and other stakeholders to guarantee these kinds of offences are clearly recognized – so that we can bring perpetrators to justice for the full extent of their wrongdoings.”