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Each self-inflicted death in which the victim had endured domestic violence must be considered a possible homicide, according to calls from advocates who seek to hold abusers accountable for the catastrophic consequences of their behavior.

This move is essential because law enforcement are failing to hold offenders accountable in cases of self-inflicted death following domestic abuse.

“Time and again, there is systemic and structural failure, especially within the criminal justice system, to examine these deaths with the gravity they warrant,” stated a leader of a advocacy organization during a landmark meeting in Westminster recently.

The meeting, organized by a group leading a “Self-Inflicted Death is Murder” initiative to fight for change in the criminal justice system, united families who had lost loved ones to suicide after family violence.

Personal Stories of Loss

One mother lost her daughter her 23-year-old daughter in March 2023. Prior to her passing, the young woman had informed her ex-boyfriend to authorities, submitting a two-hour video interview as evidence against him.

Following her passing, the perpetrator was convicted of coercive and controlling behavior and imprisoned for over three years. He was later sentenced for three years and seven months after a another victim came forward to disclose that she had been in a harmful partnership with him.

In the wake of her loss, the parent decided to campaign for a legal change to bring perpetrators to justice; yet she then discovered that laws were already in place, they just weren’t often being used to secure prosecutions.

“I decided it wasn’t a fresh legislation I needed as current statutes were already there, and after learning how much my child had been let down previous to her taking her life by the authorities and numerous services, they needed to fulfill their duties, and things needed to change,” she said.

“More than four dozen relatives 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 fighting the police and CPS for years and getting no justice for their offspring or brother or sister and could not speak out in case it affected investigations that weren’t possibly going anywhere.”

Another Tragic Case

Saskia Lightburn Richie’s daughter her 30-year-old daughter died in May 2017, in what she called “the ultimate abusive action” in a campaign of abuse.

“Hannah was energetic, she was loving,” 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 partnership where she was systematically destroyed by her partner,” she said.

“She endured physical assaults, she was psychologically tortured, she was controlled and dismantled piece by piece until she could not see a path ahead. The individual who did this to her walked free, because we call it suicide, we conclude the case and we move on.

“But I could not move on,” she said, “and I have not managed to let go. In truth, she didn’t just die by suicide. She was murdered. She was killed slowly and intentionally over a two year period, and when I approached the authorities, when I pleaded with them to look into what he had inflicted upon her, I was informed that there was no action that they could do.

“No inquiry was conducted into her death. The domestic violence fatality analysis, which I had to fight for, took five years and had no impact. A four day inquest found self-inflicted death, despite substantial proof over a very traumatic multi-day session of domestic abuse and failings by various agencies.”

The mother told the meeting that for eight years she has “been fighting a system that ignores what is obvious”.

She emphasized the self-inflicted death is murder movement was critical “because when an individual takes their own life after they’ve suffered family violence, we have to investigate it for what it really is, which is homicide.

“We must use the legislation we already possess effectively 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 law enforcement to conduct thorough inquiries. We need the prosecution authority to prosecute. We need the judiciary to understand that words and control can cause death just as much as hands and weapons.”

Government Reaction

At a second meeting in the Parliament, led by a opposition politician, and attended by the government official, the grieving families again shared their experiences.

A junior minister informed the assembly: “These deaths are often written off as if they were their decision, they chose to do this, when, reality, these were the result of in fact, another person’s abuse, and these aren’t rare incidents.”

“The legal system is flawed, we are aware,” she said. “Especially around murder or unlawful killing, it is fragmented. It’s not written in statute regardless, it has been developed with common law practices for generations, and it is no longer fit for purpose, quite frankly, given the society we currently live in.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be simple to resolve. It is extremely complicated and challenging, particularly when you look at the matter of homicide, but we recognize that it needs to be looked at.”

Legal Authority Comment

A representative for the legal body said: “Family violence is a terrible offense and our prosecutors are actively advised to consider murder and manslaughter charges in self-inflicted death instances where there is a established background of domestic abuse or other manipulative conduct.

“We have previously charged a number of defendants for causing the death of a companion they abused, including in proceedings which are currently active.

“We are also working with police and other parties to guarantee these types of crimes are well-understood – so that we can bring perpetrators to justice for the full extent of their wrongdoings.”