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Each self-inflicted death in which the deceased had experienced abuse at home should be treated as a possible murder case, as per demands from campaigners who aim to hold abusers accountable for the catastrophic consequences of their behavior.

This step is essential because police and prosecutors are failing to hold offenders accountable in instances of self-inflicted death following family violence.

“Time and again, there is systemic and structural failure, especially within the legal system, to examine these deaths with the gravity they deserve,” remarked a co-director of a advocacy organization during a landmark meeting in London recently.

The assembly, arranged by a organization running a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” campaign to fight for reform in the criminal justice system, united relatives who had suffered bereavement to suicide after family violence.

Personal Stories of Tragedy

Sharon Holland lost her daughter her 23-year-old daughter in spring 2023. Before her death, the young woman had informed her ex-boyfriend to authorities, providing a lengthy recorded statement as evidence against him.

After her death, the perpetrator was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and imprisoned for 41 months. He was subsequently sentenced for three years and seven months after a second woman stepped up to disclose that she had been in a violent and abusive relationship with him.

After Chloe’s death, the parent decided to campaign for a new law to hold offenders to justice; however she then realized that regulations were existing, they just weren’t often being used to achieve convictions.

“I concluded it was not a new law I required as current statutes were already there, and after finding out how much my child had been let down previous to her taking her life by the authorities and numerous services, they had to do their job properly, and practices required reform,” she explained.

“Over 47 families have found me and only four of us have had a conviction,” she added. “I was astonished 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 could not speak out in case it impacted inquiries that were not progressing.”

Another Tragic Case

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

“Hannah was vibrant, she was loving,” she stated. “She was full of promise, and she was an exceptional, really loving mother to her kids, and she died by suicide after two years in a partnership where she was methodically broken down by her companion,” she explained.

“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 label it self-inflicted death, we close the file and we proceed.

“Yet I was unable to continue,” she remarked, “and I have not managed to let go. Honestly, Hannah did not merely take her own life. 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 inflicted upon her, I was told that there was no action that they were able to take.

“No inquiry was conducted into her passing. The domestic homicide review, which I had to struggle to obtain, required five years and had no impact. A four day inquest found death by suicide, despite substantial proof over a very traumatic multi-day session of family violence and failings by multiple services.”

The parent told the meeting that for eight years she has “been fighting a establishment that ignores what is right in front of it”.

She said the suicide is homicide movement was vital “because when an individual takes their own life after they’ve suffered domestic abuse, we have to examine it for what it truly represents, which is homicide.

“We need to use the legislation we currently have effectively and it is not occurring at the moment, and we need to hold abusers accountable for pushing their targets to suicide.

“We have the laws. We need the will, we need police to investigate properly. We need the prosecution authority to prosecute. We need judges to understand that words and control can cause death equally to hands and weapons.”

Political Response

At a second meeting in the House of Commons, led by a Labour MP, and attended by the government official, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A parliamentary under-secretary told the meeting: “Such fatalities are often dismissed as if they were their own choice, they opted for this, when, in truth, these were the result of in fact, somebody else’s violence, and these aren’t rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we know that,” she stated. “Especially around homicide or unlawful killing, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute anyway, 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 inhabit today.

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

Prosecution Service Statement

A representative for the prosecution service commented: “Family violence is a terrible offense and our prosecutors are actively advised to consider homicide allegations in suicide cases where there is a established background of domestic abuse or other manipulative conduct.

“We have previously charged a several individuals for causing the death of a companion they mistreated, including in cases which are currently active.

“We are collaborating with police and other parties to guarantee these kinds of offences are well-understood – so that we can hold offenders to justice for the full extent of their wrongdoings.”