Chloe Holland: Campaign to tackle domestic suicide boosted by government minister visit

Sharon Holland, mother of Chloe Holland, along with Portsmouth City Councillor Kirsty Mellor, convened a meeting with Laura Farris, the minister for victims and safeguarding. Their focus was to address the urgent concern of suicide by coercive control. It comes after Chloe Holland, a 23-year-old mother-of-one took her own life after suffering a year of abuse from her ex-partner Marc Masterton. Her mother’s campaign calls for domestic abuse perpetrators to face manslaughter charges if their victims take their own lives as a result of the abuse.

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The meeting was convened in light of a recent report by the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme, which found there were 242 domestic abuse-related deaths between April 2022 and March 2023. The meeting heard key concerns and proposals, including proactive measures to address domestic violence and safeguarding the vulnerable.

Sharon Holland said: “We will continue to fight until we change the law. The report is damning and further fuels our mission to campaign for a statutory offence of manslaughter by coercive control.”

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Jacob Short, campaign coordinator added: “I firmly believe that the findings of this report should serve as a wake-up call for the government. Every statistic represents a life lost. It is imperative that we translate these findings into concrete action, implementing policies and initiatives that not only address the symptoms but also tackle the root causes of domestic violence.“

The campaigners and the minister have agreed to hold a follow-up meeting. Additionally, the campaign has forged partnerships with both the Women’s Aid Policy Team and the Southall Black Sisters. During the timeframe spanning from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2022, a total of 470 deaths occurred either in a domestic environment or as a result of domestic abuse. These included 43 per cent of cases of intimate partner homicide, 24 per cent of suspected victim suicides, 22 per cent of adult family homicides, eight per cent of child deaths, and three per cent categorised as ‘other’.

Over the second year, police observed a 28 per cent increase in the identification of suspected victim suicides linked to a history of domestic abuse, amounting to 64 cases.