1
We are calling for a national count of women, known by police to have been abused, who have died suddenly or in unexplained circumstances, and whose deaths have not been investigated as homicides. We want to know how many women with domestic abuse flags against their name are currently missing. And we want to know the number of suicide deaths each year where the deceased is known to have been subjected to domestic abuse. These are crucial steps to understanding the scale of the problem.
2
Police must change how they approach the sudden deaths of women known to be being abused. We say: treat the scene as a potential homicide – secure the scene, commission an automatic forensic post mortem, and only stand down the homicide investigation when a senior officer with expertise in domestic abuse quality assures that decision.
3
Police must have rapid access to domestic abuse records from health, social care and other agencies when they arrive at a scene of a sudden or unexplained death.
If you want to join our campaign, write to or email your local MP and ask them to support our three calls to action.
You can find your MP and their contact details here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP.
Thank you.