Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) are a statutory requirementi and are undertaken to examine agency responses and support given to those aged 16 and above, who are sadly murdered or lose their life to suicide, where their death has, or appears to have, resulted from domestic abuse.
In addition to agency involvement, DHRs also explore the past to identify any relevant background information (including previous abuse of the victim or by the perpetrator) and consider whether there were any barriers to accessing support. By taking a holistic approach, DHRs seek to identify appropriate solutions to make the future safer for others.
DHRs are victim-centred, and family and friends are invited to take part and share their experiences and perspectives. DHRs do not seek to lay blame but are a learning opportunity to help us do better.
Across the Pennine footprint, seven DHRs have been undertaken in the last two years. Each DHR seeks to highlight patterns and themes to support agencies and the community in improving their responses and support provision to people experiencing domestic abuse.
Pseudonyms are used in all our DHRs, and these are replicated within this document.
This document aims to pull together the key themes and learning from these DHRs to aid agencies in reviewing their processes and procedures, and to support professional learning. Commencing with an overview of some of the most common types of abuse that we have seen in our reviews, this report then highlights and discusses some key and reoccurring themes.
The Domestic Homicide Timelineii has been incorporated into the DHR model in PLCSP and a brief overview of this is provided. A summary of linked learning areas from other local reviews, namely Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (CSPRs) iii and Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs)iv concludes this report.
The Pennine Community Safety Partnership once again would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those at the centre of our DHRs,
