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Domestic abuse charity Refuge has renewed calls for systemic reform following new research indicating that the vast majority of suicides linked to domestic abuse are not being formally recognised or recorded as such.
Responding to findings from a suicide prevention programme in Kent, Ellie Butt, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Refuge, said the “tragic link” between domestic abuse and suicide is now undeniable, warning that official statistics may reflect only a fraction of the true number of cases. According to the Kent research, recorded figures may capture as little as 6.5% of suicides connected to abuse.
Butt said the implications are stark: evidence suggests that a woman experiencing domestic abuse is now more likely to take her own life than be killed by a partner. Yet most abuse-related suicides are not recorded as domestic abuse deaths, obscuring both the scale of harm and the extent to which perpetrators avoid scrutiny.
She highlighted the profound psychological impact of abuse, describing how trauma can leave victim-survivors feeling that suicide is their only means of escape. A 2018 study conducted by Refuge in collaboration with the University of Warwick found that 83% of service users reported feelings of despair or hopelessness, a key indicator associated with suicidality. The same study found that at least 24% had experienced suicidal thoughts and 18% had made plans to end their lives.
In recent years, coercive and controlling behaviour has consistently been identified as a significant risk factor in domestic abuse-related deaths. However, Butt argued that suicides following sustained coercive control are rarely treated as linked to domestic abuse, contributing to systemic underreporting and what she described as a broader societal failure to grasp the gravity of such conduct.
While acknowledging recent efforts to improve police data collection, Refuge said police responses to domestic abuse remain inconsistent. The charity reports that survivors frequently describe failures to take robust action against perpetrators or to implement proactive protective measures.
Refuge is calling for any suicide where domestic abuse is known or suspected to be investigated as a potential homicide from the outset. It argues that this should be accompanied by mandatory, trauma-informed police training on the intersection of abuse and suicidality, alongside strengthened multi-agency collaboration to better safeguard victim-survivors.
The organisation also drew attention to concerns raised by specialist groups including Southall Black Sisters and Project RESIST, which suggest that abuse-related suicides (including those connected to so-called “honour”-based abuse) may be particularly prevalent among Black, minority and migrant women. Refuge said this underscores the need for culturally competent responses and improved recognition of disproportionate risk.
Without more rigorous investigation of suspicious deaths, the charity warned, abuse-related suicides will continue to go unrecognised and preventable deaths will persist. For family justice professionals, the findings are likely to intensify scrutiny of how coercive control, risk assessment and inter-agency information sharing are addressed across both criminal and family proceedings.
