Domestic Homicide Oversight Mechanism for Children’s Services: Summary of findings

Chantler, Khatidja ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9129-2560, Baker, Victoria, Heyes, Kim ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9029-545X and Gunby, Clare ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8428-6621 (2023) Domestic Homicide Oversight Mechanism for Children’s Services: Summary of findings. In: Domestic Homicide Oversight Mechanism: HALT study briefings. Research Report. Domestic Abuse Commissioner, London.

Preview

Published Version Available under License In Copyright. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

In England and Wales domestic homicide reviews (DHRs) are conducted when the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by an intimate partner, ex-partner, family member or member of the same household (DVCVA, 2004). However, despite the focus on victims aged 16 or over, children under 16 can also be impacted, not only as the surviving children of (most often) mothers killed by male partners or ex-partners, but as homicide victims themselves – killed alongside mothers by male partners, ex-partners or family members, or less commonly by their own intimate partners in adolescence. In rare cases children can also perpetrate domestic homicide, killing parents, siblings or intimate partners. As survivors, children may have heard, seen or even intervened during episodes of violence or abuse prior to the homicide (Stanley et al., 2019), or in some cases, even been present at the homicide themselves (Stanley et al., 2019); experiences which are well documented in the literature to have wide-ranging and enduring deleterious physical and psychological effects (for reviews see Alisic et al., 2015; Wolfe et al., 2003). Indeed, given the high overlap between domestic abuse and child abuse (CAADA, 2014), many child survivors of domestic homicide may also have experienced direct abuse themselves, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, or even neglect (Stanley et al., 2019). The purpose of this work is to better understand the types of recommendations made in Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) and will help to inform the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Domestic Homicide Oversight Mechanism for Children’s Services.