The role of the NHS in preventing domestic homicides and domestic abuse-related deaths

Greg Oxley; Manjit Gheera; Veronica Abogunrin

Background

Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledged to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. In December 2025, the government appointed Jess Asato MP as the VAWG adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care. The press release announcing the appointment states Jess Asato’s work will focus on:

how to reduce the impact of alcohol on VAWG

embedding VAWG support into neighbourhood health services, so women and girls can be easily connected to specialist support

improving how VAWG services are commissioned, to ensure the right help is in the right place

The subsequent cross-government strategy, Freedom from violence and abuse, was published on 18th December 2025. The strategy includes a number of commitments to ensure victims of VAWG can access specialist support services when they need them, and that NHS staff are equipped to spot signs of abuse and help victims take steps to safety. A new referral service will be rolled out across GP practices, with a phased rollout of the initiative commencing in April 2026. In addition, the government said a new mandatory safeguarding learning programme on domestic abuse will be launched for the NHS workforce.

A Library Insight on Violence against women and girls, published in July 2025, looks at the effectiveness of previous strategies on VAWG.

The Library briefing, The role of healthcare services in addressing domestic abuse, gives background on existing NHS policies and resources to support victims of domestic abuse.

How does the law define domestic abuse?

Section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 sets out a statutory definition of domestic abuse:

Behaviour of a person (“A”) towards another person (“B”) is “domestic abuse” if—

(a) A and B are each aged 16 or over and are personally connected to each other, and

(b) the behaviour is abusive.

The definition of “personally connected” is set out in section 2 of the 2021 act and covers a range of intimate and familial relationships.

Under section 3 of the act, children are recognised as victims of domestic abuse if they see or hear, or experience the effects of, abusive behaviour falling within the above definition and they are related to person A or B (for example, if a child witnesses domestic abuse perpetrated by one parent against the other).

Statutory guidance issued by the Home Office sets out how organisations (such as the police, local authorities and the NHS) should use the statutory definition when identifying domestic abuse and supporting victims and survivors.

Statistics

The Domestic Homicide Project, a Home Office funded research project, publishes statistics on domestic abuse-related deaths, including homicides (murder or manslaughter), suspected suicides, and ‘unexpected deaths’ (such as deaths due to natural causes or accidents, or where the cause of death is unclear or is under investigation).

According to its latest report, published in March 2024, there were 262 domestic abuse-related deaths recorded between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024. Of these deaths:

98 were suspected suicides following domestic abuse,

80 were intimate partner homicides,

39 were adult family homicides,

28 were unexpected deaths,

11 were child deaths, and

6 were ‘other’ (where the victim and suspect lived together, but were not related or intimate partners)

According to The Domestic Homicide Project’s Domestic Homicides and Suspected Victim Suicides 2020-2024 Year 4 Report (PDF), 73% of domestic abuse-related deaths were female, and 60% were aged between 25 to 54 years old.

Across the four-year period, 22% of victims and 43% of suspects were recorded as having “mental health needs”. In 68% of incidents across the four-year period, the victim and/or suspect was known to a partner agency, with mental health services being the most recorded single agency (23%).

Violence against women and girls strategy

In December 2025, the government published its new violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy, Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls, together with an action plan (PDF).

The strategy says the government will take a “whole of society’ approach” to tackling VAWG, including by:

prioritising prevention and tackling the root causes of VAWG,
relentlessly pursuing perpetrators, and
supporting victims and survivors of violence and abuse.

The strategy includes several health-related commitments, including:

a £5 million contribution from the Department of Health and Social Care per year towards support services for victims,
the launch of a new ‘multiple disadvantage programme’ which will see the Department for Health and Social Care, the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions work together to support people facing or at risk of multiple disadvantage (combinations of homelessness and rough sleeping, poor mental health, substance use, domestic abuse and contact with the criminal justice system),
the roll out of “Steps to Safety”, a domestic abuse and sexual violence referral service across Integrated Care Boards to identify and refer victims and survivors into support services, and
the appointment of Jess Asato MP as a new advisor on VAWG to focus on reducing the impact of alcohol on VAWG, embedding VAWG support into neighbourhood health services, and improving commissioning of services.