About this page. This page summarises a Domestic Homicide Review published in the Home Office DHR Library. The full report is available at the source link below. Victim and perpetrator names are not included in extracted summaries on this page.
Source · Domestic Homicide Review
Harlow review
CSP: HarlowPublished: October 2024Year of death: 2022Extracted: 7 recs
Statutory domestic homicide review under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. Source: Home Office DHR Library.
The review highlights missed opportunities by police and health professionals to identify and respond to domestic abuse, particularly concerning the male victim's experiences and the impact of alcohol misuse. It also notes a lack of inter-agency information sharing and workplace support for staff experiencing abuse.
Home Office classifications
26 tags
Source-supplied classifications used by the Home Office to catalogue this review.
Victim - alcohol misuse
Victim - had been a victim of an abuser before
Perpetrator - case heard in court
Perpetrator - issued life sentence
Perpetrator - alcohol misuse
Perpetrator - mental ill health
Perpetrator - anxiety
Perpetrator - depression
Perpetrator - suicidal thoughts
Perpetrator - known to agencies as a domestic abuse perpetrator
Perpetrator - known to police as a domestic abuse perpetrator
Perpetrator - known to others as a domestic abuse perpetrator
Perpetrator - known to family as a domestic abuse perpetrator
Perpetrator - known to workplace (employer) as a domestic abuse perpetrator
Aggravating factors - coercive or controlling behaviour
Aggravating factors - physical abuse
DHR process - family contributed to dhr
DHR process - family supported by expert specialist advocate
DHR process - health services recommendations
DHR process - technology systems recommendation themes
DHR process - identification of risk recommendation themes
DHR process - training recommendation themes
DHR process - policy recommendation themes
DHR process - multi agency working recommendation themes
DHR process - record keeping recommendation themes
DHR process - awareness raising recommendation themes
Extracted recommendations
7 recommendations pulled from the report · 5 matched to organisations in the index
Develop a co-ordinated and multi-agency domestic abuse awareness campaign including male victims, and victims who have additional complexities such as mental health and substance misuse.
All healthcare staff should receive additional training and resources to better recognise signs of domestic abuse especially with regards to male patients and those with additional complex needs. Any training should include the potential biases practitioners may have when recognising abuse with men compared to the recognition of abuse for women. Additionally, there needs to be an understanding of how male victims may present, and how their health concerns such as alcohol or mental health may be as a result of abuse within a relationship.
All GPs and practice staff (including receptionists) should have domestic abuse awareness training, to enable them to raise any concerns to the practice safeguarding lead for further risk assessment and appropriate action.
EPUT policies to be appropriately linked to the domestic abuse toolkit – including Employee Wellbeing sickness and absence policy, one to one support and appraisal policy.