Overview
- The Domestic Homicide Project, a police dataset, reports the first suspected suicide after a teenage relationship where both the victim and suspect were under 18.
- Between April 2020 and March 2025, police logged 1,452 deaths linked to domestic abuse, including 641 homicides and 552 suicides, with women making up 73% of victims and 79% of suspects male.
- A change in practice last year now requires officers to check for abuse histories at suicide and unexpected-death scenes, which has led to 17 posthumous charges and more live investigations.
- Assistant commissioner Louisa Rolfe said violent pornography and misogynistic influencers may be shaping abusive behavior among teenagers, including the normalising of dangerous non-fatal strangulation.
- Advocacy groups want Parliament to create a distinct crime for suicide following domestic abuse, a push echoed by safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.