Domestic Homicide Reviews

1. What is a Domestic Homicide Review?

A Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) is a review of the circumstances in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by:

  1. A person to whom they were related; or
  2. A person with whom they had been in an intimate personal relationship; or
  3. A member of the same household.

A DHR can also be undertaken when the person has taken their own life (suicide) and the circumstances surrounding their death give the same cause for concern.

DHR's are a statutory duty under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004.

2. The purpose of a DHR

The purpose of a DHR is to:

  1. Establish what lessons should be learned from the death regarding the way in which local professionals and organisations work individually and together to safeguard victims;
  2. Identify clearly what those lessons are both within and between agencies, how and within what timescales they will be acted on, and what is expected to change as a result;
  3. Apply those lessons to service responses including changes to policies and procedures as appropriate; and
  4. Help services work to prevent domestic violence and improve service responses for all domestic violence victims and their children through improved intra and inter-agency working.

3. Carrying out a DHR

A Domestic Homicide Review should be carried out in line with the statutory guidance.

See: Multi-Agency Statutory Guidance for the Conduct of Domestic Homicide Reviews.

4. The Domestic Abuse Commissioner

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Office was set up in 2019. As part of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, it requires all community safety partnerships to send in domestic homicide reviews to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner. This will help to identify lessons learnt and where gaps in provision have been identified.

For further information see: Domestic Abuse Commissioner Website.