New UK rules to review deaths linked to domestic abuse

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The United Kingdom has introduced new rules for investigating deaths linked to domestic abuse after a government-backed review found that bereaved families were sometimes left waiting years for answers, while recommendations from previous reviews were not always implemented.

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The updated statutory guidance for Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews, formerly known as Domestic Homicide Reviews, came into force on Tuesday, September 15.

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The Home Office said the revised system would put victims at the centre of reviews and strengthen how lessons from deaths linked to domestic abuse are identified and acted upon.

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The changes also broaden the scope of the reviews to reflect deaths linked to domestic abuse, including suicides following abuse.

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A 2025 Home Office publication, Learning from Loss, said domestic abuse-related deaths by suicide had exceeded domestic homicides in recent years.

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It recorded 1,012 deaths between April 2020 and March 2024, comprising 501 domestic homicides and 354 suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse.

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The report also identified what it described as a growing concern over “hidden homicides” — deaths that are sudden, unexpected or unexplained in suspicious circumstances but where no charges are brought.

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Dame Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, said the system had uncovered significant gaps in how lessons from deaths were translated into action.

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She said bereaved families were “having to face a three-year wait on average for reviews to conclude”, while some received no formal answers or investigation into the death of their loved one.

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Jacobs also said opportunities to prevent future deaths were being missed.

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“Vital opportunities to prevent future deaths are being routinely missed across England and Wales,” she said.

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The report said recommendations arising from completed reviews could also remain unimplemented, with some actions abandoned by local agencies because of inadequate resources or a lack of guidance.

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The new framework is intended to address some of those shortcomings.

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Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews will now be conducted where a death has, or appears to have, resulted from domestic abuse as defined by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

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The Home Office said the revised guidance would streamline the administrative process, establish a more unified approach and strengthen oversight.

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Review chairs will also receive compulsory training, while a Home Office Quality Assurance Board, established in 2025, will review more reports and provide feedback to Community Safety Partnerships.

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The government has further committed to creating a new mechanism for overseeing recommendations arising from the reviews.

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The purpose of the process is to examine what happened before a death and identify whether agencies or communities missed opportunities to intervene.

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The Home Office’s Learning from Loss report said the reviews were intended to “illuminate the past to make the future safer”.

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The human cost behind the reviews is illustrated in the account of Frank Mullane, whose sister Julia and nephew William were murdered after his sister had experienced prolonged domestic abuse and death threats.

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Mullane said his family had made repeated attempts to obtain effective help, principally from police, before the murders.

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After the deaths, his family continued campaigning for answers.

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“My family was doing something that felt like active democracy, citizens bringing legitimate challenges and questions to public service providers,” Mullane said in the report.

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He said the subsequent review answered questions his family had and exposed what he described as serious shortcomings in public protection.

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The review, he said, “illuminated the past to make the future safer.”

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The government says the reforms are part of its wider strategy to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.

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The Home Office said learning from deaths following domestic abuse was central to that effort, with the aim of ensuring lessons from individual cases are translated into changes that improve protection for victims.

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