Domestic Abuse, Suicide and Domestic Homicide Reviews
In her work with REFUGE to explore the scale, mediators and moderators of suicidality amongst its client base (REFUGE reportLink opens in a new window), Vanessa Munro identified significant shortcomings in the probing for, and handling of, disclosures of suicidality amongst professionals, and concerns about the ability of services to ‘join the dots’ in order to effectively identify those most at risk of domestic abuse related suicidality. Following on from this, in 2021, Vanessa secured some funding from the Home Office, under its Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Fund, to conduct further research – with Sarah Dangar of AAFDALink opens in a new window and Lotte Young AndradeLink opens in a new window.
In this work, Vanessa and colleagues reviewed a total of 32 Domestic Homicide Reviews conducted to date in England and Wales in suicide cases, and combined this with a series of 36 semi-structured interviews and a focus group involving 8 participants to explore professional and bereaved family member perspectives regarding service responses to victims during their lifetimes and in the aftermath of their deaths, as well as the adequacy of processes for commissioning and completed Domestic Homicide Reviews in these cases. They found a profile of deceased victims who had struggled in plain sight of services for some time prior to their deaths, with many being in regular contact with housing services, mental health services, police and GPs. Despite this, professionals were often insufficiently curious about disclosures of domestic abuse, suicidality, or the connection between the two and there was a tendency towards siloed responses that did not always do enough to acknowledge and seek to address barriers to help-seeking that victims may have encountered. The team found that, in the aftermath of suicide, investigations into the cause of death (and links to domestic abuse) were often inadequate and lacking in a trauma-informed approach. They found inconsistent practice in relation to the commissioning of Domestic Homicide Reviews in suicide cases, and insufficient guidance in relation to the conducting of such reviews which served to undermine their transparency, rigour and capacity to engage bereaved family members effectively in the process. The Government has recently identified the need for an improved Domestic Homicide Review mechanism, including in particular in relation to suicide cases; and this report, it is hoped, can inform that review process in future.
Since completing this research, Vanessa and colleagues have been working to ensure that their findings reach a wide range of audiences. This has included developing a short animation and podcast to raise awareness, as well as crafting policy briefs and a practitioner toolkit intended to improve professional responses and support.
Watch the Domestic Homicide Review Animation [click the image]:
Domestic Homicide Reviews Policy brief 1Link opens in a new window
Domestic Homicide Reviews Policy brief 2Link opens in a new window