PhD student: Eleanor Watson; Partner: Office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner; Supervisors: Prof. James Rockey and Prof. Heather Flowe; School: Birmingham Business School.
Suicide has emerged as the leading cause of death in domestic abuse-related fatalities in the UK, surpassing deaths caused directly by intimate partner violence. Between 2020 and 2024, domestic abuse was linked to 1,012 reported deaths, prompting the National Police Chiefs’ Council to declare it a “national emergency.” The connection between domestic abuse and suicide has only recently gained formal recognition, with the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme beginning to report suspected suicides in domestic abuse cases from 2020. By 2023, suicide had become the most common cause of death among victims—a trend that continued into 2024. Recent research conducted by the supervisory team identified significant gaps in service access for domestic abuse victims, which can exacerbate conditions for suicidality. Findings revealed that although most victims had contact with police or health services, support often failed to fully address the severity of their situations—partly due to victims withholding details out of fear of perpetrator retaliation. A key recommendation from this research is for frontline services to adopt a flexible, trauma-informed approach that reflects the fluctuating nature of suicide risk and prioritises professional judgement, survivor input, and contextual understanding.
Research Questions
- How do survivors of domestic abuse perceive the support provided by police domestic abuse desks, and what support do they think would be beneficial in helping them stay safe from suicide?
- How do officers within West Midlands Police perceive and respond to suicide risk among survivors, and what do they consider effective and realistic practices for supporting safety from suicide?
- What is the most appropriate policing response to suspected suicidality among domestic abuse survivors, as identified through expert consensus for implementation in the West Midlands?
- How usable, effective, and appropriate is the piloted safeguarding response to suicidality among domestic abuse survivors within West Midlands Police?
Methods
This project aims to build a robust evidence base to inform new safeguarding practices designed to help survivors of domestic abuse stay safe from suicide. These practices will be piloted by the West Midlands Police Domestic Abuse Desks. To develop the evidence base, qualitative research will be conducted, including interviews with individuals who have experienced domestic abuse and focus groups with West Midlands Police officers. Insights from these activities will inform a Delphi study, through which experts from policing, health, safeguarding, suicide prevention, and lived experience backgrounds will reach consensus on the practices to be implemented. The agreed safeguarding practices will then be piloted within West Midlands Police and evaluated using mixed methods. This will include quantitative analysis of police data—such as the number of specialist referrals made—and qualitative exploration of the experiences of individuals who have accessed the Domestic Abuse Desk service, alongside officers’ perceptions of the new practices.
Anticipated Outcomes
This project aims to enhance suicide prevention within domestic abuse policing by developing and piloting a new safeguarding strategy informed by expert consensus and lived experience. It is anticipated that the implementation of this strategy will strengthen current approaches to suicide prevention, offering a more responsive and compassionate narrative for domestic abuse survivors. The intervention is expected to lead to an increase in specialist referrals and improved multiagency collaboration, ensuring that those at risk receive the most effective support. Within the criminal justice system, the strategy’s documentation component may provide a foundation for evidencing manslaughter prosecutions in cases of domestic abuse-related suicide. Ultimately, the findings will inform the development of training, best practice guidelines, and policy recommendations to improve criminal justice responses to domestic abuse and suicidality.