Prevalence of Domestic Abuse and Coercive Control Related Suicide in the UK

Domestic abuse and coercive control are increasingly recognised as important factors when considering suicide risk. Yet the relationship between domestic abuse and suicide can be difficult to identify, particularly when abuse is psychological, non-physical or has continued through a period of separation.

Domestic homicide receives considerable public and professional attention. Suicide following domestic abuse can be less visible. The circumstances surrounding a death may initially appear to relate primarily to mental health, while the wider history may include coercive control, intimidation, isolation, stalking, financial abuse, threats or other forms of domestic abuse.

For professionals working in safeguarding, mental health, suicide prevention, health, social care, criminal justice and other frontline services, understanding this wider context is important.

This article examines what current UK evidence tells us about domestic abuse, coercive control and suicide risk, why the relationship can be difficult to identify, and what professionals and organisations can do to improve recognition and response.

Domestic abuse in the UK: what the latest data shows

Domestic abuse remains widespread across England and Wales.

The latest Office for National Statistics data, covering the year ending March 2025, estimated that 3.8 million people aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse during the previous year, equivalent to 7.8% of the population.

The same data estimated that approximately 12.5 million people had experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16, equivalent to 25.8% of people aged 16 and over.

The figures also show that domestic abuse is not limited to physical violence. Emotional abuse was the most commonly reported form of domestic abuse during the year ending March 2025, affecting an estimated 5.0% of people aged 16 and over. Economic abuse and threats were also reported by substantial numbers of people.

These figures come from the Crime Survey for England and Wales and relate specifically to England and Wales. They should not be treated as a direct prevalence estimate for the whole of the UK.

Domestic abuse can involve:

• Physical violence
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional and psychological abuse
• Coercive or controlling behaviour
• Economic abuse
• Stalking and harassment
• Threats and intimidation
• Technology-facilitated abuse
• Isolation from family, friends or support networks

The absence of physical violence does not mean that the situation is low risk.

For professionals, the pattern of behaviour and its impact on the person's autonomy, safety and wellbeing may be more important than whether there has been a recent physical assault.

Domestic abuse and suicide: what do we know?

There is no single national figure that captures every suicide in which domestic abuse was a contributing factor.

This is an important limitation when discussing prevalence.

Suicide is complex and can involve multiple interacting circumstances, including mental health, trauma, relationships, social isolation, financial difficulties, physical health, substance use and previous suicidal behaviour.

It would therefore be inappropriate to assume that domestic abuse caused a particular death simply because abuse was present.

However, UK reviews and research demonstrate that domestic abuse can be highly relevant to suicide risk and that the relationship deserves specific consideration.

The Home Office's statutory guidance on controlling or coercive behaviour states that coercive control is a risk factor in domestic homicides and a precursor for suicides. It also recommends that agencies involved in domestic abuse risk assessment consider the potential for both domestic homicide and victim suicide.

This is particularly important because domestic abuse can affect a person's sense of safety, autonomy and ability to seek help.

Evidence from Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews

One of the clearest sources of UK evidence comes from the Home Office analysis of Domestic Homicide Reviews.

The analysis published in 2024 covered 129 reviews involving 132 victims, including 26 victims who died by suicide.

Among those 26 suicide cases, 88% had experienced coercive control as an identified aggravating factor.

This is a significant finding, but it needs to be interpreted carefully.

The figure does not mean that 88% of all suicides in the UK involve coercive control.

It relates specifically to the 26 suicide cases included in that particular Domestic Homicide Review analysis, where there was a known history of domestic abuse and a review was undertaken.

It does, however, demonstrate why coercive control needs to be considered when professionals are assessing domestic abuse and suicide risk.

The same Home Office analysis found that coercive control was the most frequently identified aggravating factor across the reviews examined.

More recent Home Office analysis covering reviews from October 2022 to September 2023 also identified coercive control as the largest category of aggravating factor recorded across the cases analysed, including cases involving victims who died by suicide.

The evidence therefore supports a clear professional consideration:

Where domestic abuse and suicide risk coexist, professionals should actively consider whether coercive control or other forms of abuse are part of the person's circumstances.

What is coercive control?

Coercive control is not simply a disagreement between partners or a single controlling incident.

It involves a pattern of behaviour used to exert power over another person.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include:

• Monitoring movements and communications
• Controlling access to money
• Restricting employment
• Preventing contact with friends or family
• Monitoring phones, accounts or online activity
• Threatening children or pets
• Threatening homelessness
• Humiliating or degrading someone
• Using intimidation or threats
• Restricting access to healthcare
• Creating fear about what will happen if the person leaves
• Using children as part of an ongoing pattern of control
• Continuing abusive behaviour after separation

The Home Office statutory guidance makes clear that violence or threats of violence do not have to be present for controlling or coercive behaviour to occur.

In England and Wales, controlling or coercive behaviour can constitute a criminal offence where the relevant statutory criteria are met.

The guidance also emphasises the importance of understanding the pattern, context and impact of behaviour rather than treating individual incidents in isolation.

Further reading

For a more detailed examination of the psychological and mental-health impact of coercive control, see our article:

How Coercive Control Impacts Mental Health and Suicide Risk

How coercive control can affect suicide risk

Coercive control can affect a person's circumstances in ways that are particularly relevant to suicide prevention.

A person may experience:

• Loss of autonomy
• Persistent fear
• Social isolation
• Hypervigilance
• Loss of confidence
• Shame and self-blame
• Financial dependence
• Entrapment
• Reduced access to support
• Fear of retaliation
• A sense that there is no safe way to leave

These experiences can accumulate over time.

Research examining coercive control and mental health has found associations between coercive control and outcomes including PTSD, complex PTSD, depression and other mental-health symptoms.

This does not establish that coercive control causes suicide in every individual case.

It does, however, demonstrate why sustained coercion and control should not be treated as a secondary issue when assessing a person's wellbeing or risk.

What does "coercive suicide" mean?

The phrase "coercive suicide" is increasingly appearing in searches and discussions about domestic abuse, but it should not be treated as a standard clinical diagnosis.

It can be used informally to describe situations in which coercion, threats, intimidation or controlling behaviour may be associated with suicidal thoughts or behaviour.

For example, a person may experience sustained abuse that leaves them feeling trapped, isolated or unable to see a safe way forward.

An abusive partner may also use threats of suicide as a form of control, particularly around separation.

These are different circumstances and should not be collapsed into a single explanation.

For professionals, the important question is not whether a case fits a particular label.

It is whether coercion, control, threats, abuse or entrapment are contributing to the person's circumstances and whether those factors have been properly considered in the risk assessment.

Why domestic abuse-related suicide can be missed

The relationship between domestic abuse and suicide can be difficult to identify for several reasons.

Abuse may not be disclosed

A person may not identify their experience as domestic abuse.

They may be frightened about what will happen if they disclose it.

They may fear losing their children, home, finances or relationships.

They may also believe that professionals will not understand the situation or that disclosure will make things more dangerous.

Psychological abuse leaves no obvious injury

Physical injuries can provide an immediate indication that something is wrong.

Coercive control may not.

A person can be experiencing severe psychological distress while appearing outwardly safe.

Different services may hold different parts of the picture

A GP may know about depression.

A mental-health service may know about suicidal thoughts.

The police may have records of domestic incidents.

A housing service may know about financial or accommodation problems.

A safeguarding team may have information about children.

If those pieces of information are not brought together appropriately, the pattern can remain difficult to see.

The abuse may have occurred in the past

Domestic abuse does not necessarily stop having an impact when the relationship ends.

Coercive and controlling behaviour can continue after separation through stalking, harassment, financial abuse, threats, contact arrangements, technology or disputes involving children.

The Home Office statutory guidance specifically recognises post-separation abuse as an important area of risk.

This means that a person does not necessarily need to be living with an abusive partner for domestic abuse to remain relevant to suicide risk.

Why psychological abuse is particularly important

Psychological abuse can be difficult to identify because it often develops gradually.

A person may experience repeated criticism, humiliation, intimidation, manipulation, isolation or monitoring until behaviours that would once have seemed unacceptable become normalised.

This can affect:

• Confidence
• Identity
• Decision-making
• Relationships
• Independence
• Emotional wellbeing
• Perceptions of safety
• Willingness to seek help

Professionals should therefore avoid assuming that the absence of physical violence means that domestic abuse is absent or less significant.

Our article Why Psychological Abuse Is Often Missed in Suicide Prevention explores this issue in more detail, including why psychological abuse can disappear from suicide-prevention assessments when mental health and safeguarding are treated as separate issues.

Domestic abuse-related suicide and domestic homicide

Domestic abuse-related suicide and domestic homicide are not the same thing.

A domestic homicide involves one person killing another person within a domestic or family context.

A domestic abuse-related suicide concerns a death by suicide in circumstances where domestic abuse may have contributed to the person's distress, circumstances or risk.

The two can nevertheless involve overlapping risk factors.

These may include:

• Coercive control
• Escalating abuse
• Stalking
• Separation
• Threats
• Isolation
• Previous violence
• Psychological abuse
• Economic abuse
• Fear of the perpetrator
• Attempts to leave

Understanding this distinction matters because a suicide may initially appear to be solely a mental-health issue.

The wider history may reveal a very different and more complex picture.

For a fuller comparison, see Domestic Abuse-Related Suicide vs Domestic Homicide in the UK.

Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews

In 2024, the government announced that Domestic Homicide Reviews would be renamed Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews to better recognise deaths associated with domestic abuse, including suicide cases.

This change reflects an important development in how fatal domestic abuse is understood.

A review can help identify:

• Missed opportunities for intervention
• Communication problems between agencies
• Gaps in safeguarding
• Failure to recognise coercive control
• Problems with risk assessment
• Barriers to disclosure
• Opportunities for earlier intervention

However, a review does not mean that domestic abuse should automatically be regarded as the sole cause of a death.

The purpose is to understand the circumstances, identify learning and examine whether opportunities to reduce risk were missed.

This distinction is particularly important when reviewing deaths by suicide.

What should professionals consider?

When someone presents with suicidal thoughts, self-harm or significant psychological distress, professionals should consider whether domestic abuse may be relevant.

This does not mean asking intrusive questions without considering safety.

It means creating appropriate opportunities to explore the person's circumstances.

Depending on the setting, professionals may need to consider:

• Is the person experiencing coercive or controlling behaviour?
• Are they frightened of a partner or former partner?
• Are they being monitored?
• Do they have access to money and communication?
• Are there threats involving children or pets?
• Has there been a recent separation?
• Has stalking or harassment increased?
• Does the person feel trapped or unable to leave safely?
• Is someone else influencing what the person says to professionals?
• Are there previous police, safeguarding or domestic-abuse records?
• Are multiple agencies holding different pieces of relevant information?

Questions should be asked safely and privately where possible.

The presence of another person can affect what someone feels able to disclose.

Professionals should also consider whether an abusive person may monitor phones, emails, online activity or appointments.

Do not separate mental health from domestic abuse risk

One of the most important lessons for professionals is that mental health and domestic abuse should not automatically be treated as separate issues.

A person can simultaneously be:

• Experiencing suicidal thoughts
• Living with coercive control
• Experiencing trauma
• Facing financial abuse
• Caring for children
• Trying to leave a relationship
• Dealing with housing insecurity
• Receiving support from several different services

These circumstances can interact.

A suicide-risk assessment that focuses exclusively on symptoms may therefore miss important contextual information.

Equally, professionals should avoid assuming that domestic abuse explains every instance of suicidal distress.

The aim is to understand the whole picture.

A trauma-informed approach

A trauma-informed response recognises that people experiencing abuse may have learned to manage danger by withholding information, avoiding confrontation, appearing compliant or disengaging from services.

A professional might therefore see:

• Missed appointments
• Apparent ambivalence
• Difficulty making decisions
• Withdrawal
• Inconsistent accounts
• Anxiety
• Anger
• Difficulty trusting professionals

These behaviours should not automatically be interpreted as lack of engagement or unwillingness to accept help.

They may reflect the person's circumstances and attempts to remain safe.

This is why professional curiosity matters.

The question is not simply:

"Why isn't this person engaging?"

It may also be:

"What might be making it difficult or unsafe for this person to engage?"

Implications for organisations

Organisations working with people affected by domestic abuse, trauma and suicide risk need systems that allow professionals to see beyond individual presenting problems.

This may include:

• Domestic abuse awareness training
• Training on coercive control
• Clear safeguarding procedures
• Suicide-risk assessment processes
• Appropriate information-sharing arrangements
• Multi-agency working
• Access to specialist domestic-abuse advice
• Reflective supervision
• Clear escalation routes
• Learning from serious incidents and reviews

Staff do not need to become specialists in every area.

They do need enough knowledge to recognise when something does not fit the initial explanation and when additional support or safeguarding input may be required.

Why professional training matters

Domestic abuse, coercive control, trauma and suicide risk rarely fit neatly into separate professional categories.

A person may move between health, social care, housing, criminal justice, education and voluntary-sector services.

Each service may see a different part of their experience.

Effective training can help professionals recognise patterns, ask safer questions, understand risk in context and communicate concerns appropriately.

At Reflect Training, we work with organisations to develop practical capability around domestic abuse, safeguarding, trauma-informed practice, mental health, suicide awareness and complex risk.

The aim is not simply to provide information.

It is to help professionals make better-informed decisions when circumstances are complex and the risks are not immediately visible.

Support for people experiencing domestic abuse

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, support is available.

If there is an immediate danger to life, contact the emergency services.

The UK Government's domestic abuse support guidance provides current information about specialist services, including support for women, men and people experiencing different forms of domestic abuse.

If it is safe to do so, support may include:

• Specialist domestic-abuse services
• Domestic-abuse helplines
• Mental-health services
• GPs
• Safeguarding services
• Police
• Victim-support organisations

It is also important to consider digital safety. If there is a possibility that a phone, computer or browsing history is being monitored, accessing support online may itself carry risks.

Final thoughts

Domestic abuse-related suicide is difficult to quantify precisely.

That does not mean the relationship between domestic abuse, coercive control and suicide risk should be overlooked.

Current UK evidence shows that coercive control is repeatedly identified within reviews of domestic abuse-related deaths, while research demonstrates associations between coercive control and significant mental-health difficulties.

The Home Office has explicitly identified controlling or coercive behaviour as a risk factor in domestic homicides and a precursor for suicides.

The professional challenge is therefore not to assume that domestic abuse caused a particular suicide.

It is to ensure that domestic abuse is not overlooked when it may be relevant.

That means recognising coercive control.

It means understanding psychological abuse.

It means considering post-separation risk.

It means connecting information across services where appropriate.

And it means asking what may be happening in a person's life beyond the immediate presenting symptom.

When someone is experiencing suicidal distress, the question should not only be:

"What is happening to this person's mental health?"

It should also be:

"What is happening around this person that may be contributing to their distress, restricting their choices or affecting their safety?"

Sometimes, the answer includes domestic abuse.

Recognising that possibility can be an important part of safer, more informed practice.