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Every suicide in which the deceased had experienced abuse at home should be considered a possible murder case, according to demands from campaigners who seek to make perpetrators responsible for the devastating consequences of their behavior.

This move is essential because police and prosecutors are failing to bring perpetrators to justice in instances of self-inflicted death after domestic abuse.

“In case after case, there is systemic and structural failure, particularly within the legal system, to examine these deaths with the seriousness they deserve,” stated a co-director of a advocacy organization during a significant meeting in London earlier this week.

The assembly, arranged by a group leading a “Suicide is Homicide” campaign to fight for reform in the criminal justice system, brought together relatives who had suffered bereavement to suicide following family violence.

Personal Stories of Loss

Sharon Holland experienced the death of her child Chloe Holland in spring 2023. Before her death, Chloe had informed her former partner to authorities, submitting a lengthy recorded statement as evidence about his conduct.

After her death, the individual was found guilty of coercive and controlling behavior and jailed for over three years. He was subsequently jailed for an additional term after a second woman stepped up to report that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

After Chloe’s death, the mother chose to advocate for a new law to hold offenders accountable; yet she then realized that laws were existing, they just were rarely applied to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it wasn’t a new law I required as existing laws were already there, and after finding out how much my daughter had been let down before her taking her life by the police and numerous services, they needed to fulfill their duties, and practices needed to change,” she said.

“Over 47 families have contacted me and only four of us have had a guilty verdict,” she continued. “I was so shocked to see such a large number who have been fighting 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.”

Another Tragic Case

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

“She was energetic, she was caring,” she stated. “She had great potential, and she was an exceptional, deeply devoted mother to her kids, and she took her own life after 24 months in a relationship where she was methodically broken down by her partner,” she explained.

“She was physically beaten, she was psychologically tortured, she was dominated and dismantled piece by piece until she could not see a way forward. The man who caused this went unpunished, because we label it suicide, we conclude the case and we proceed.

“But I could not move on,” she said, “and I haven’t been able to let go. In truth, Hannah didn’t just die by suicide. She was killed. She was killed slowly and deliberately over a 24-month span, and when I approached the authorities, when I begged them to look into what he had inflicted upon her, I was told that there was nothing that they could do.

“No inquiry was conducted into her passing. The domestic homicide review, which I had to fight for, required five years and changed nothing. A lengthy coroner’s hearing determined self-inflicted death, notwithstanding huge evidence over a extremely distressing multi-day session of family violence and failings by multiple services.”

The parent told the meeting that for a decade she has “struggled against a system that ignores what is right in front of it”.

She emphasized the self-inflicted death is murder campaign was vital “since when someone dies by suicide after they’ve suffered family violence, we have to examine it for what it truly represents, which is homicide.

“We must use the legislation 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 require determination, we need law enforcement to investigate properly. We need the Crown Prosecution Service to take legal action. We need the judiciary to understand that verbal abuse and manipulation can cause death just as much as physical force and arms.”

Government Reaction

At a follow-up gathering in the House of Commons, led by a Labour MP, and including 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 opted for this, when, reality, these were the culmination of in fact, another person’s abuse, and these aren’t rare incidents.”

“Our law is broken, we know that,” she stated. “Especially around homicide or manslaughter, it is piecemeal. It lacks statutory basis regardless, it has been shaped with traditional legal customs for centuries, and it is outdated, quite frankly, it’s the world we currently live in.

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

Legal Authority Comment

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 known context of domestic abuse or other manipulative conduct.

“We have previously charged a several individuals for causing the death of a companion they mistreated, encompassing 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 full extent of their crimes.”