Government not learning from deaths by domestic violence - watchdog

The voices of women who have died at the hands of a partner or former partner are being ignored and the government is failing to heed warnings from their deaths, a damning report from the domestic abuse commissioner reveals today.

- Alexandra Topping

An examination into how the government learns lessons from the deaths of domestic abuse victims has found that half of the national recommendations made in domestic homicide reviews (DHRs) are not put into action, with only a quarter fully implemented.

The domestic abuse commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, told the Guardian that a study of DHRs - carried out whenever anyone over 16 is murdered in a domestic setting - revealed a "deeply concerning" lack of oversight at the top of government.

Between 2019 and 2021 DHRs made 110 national recommendations, the majority of which were for the Home Office. Of these only 25% were fully implemented, while a further 25% were deemed to be happening already, 21% were missing, 20% were partly met and 8% were not met.