The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the link between domestic abuse and victim suicide.
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab, Home Office): The Home Office is working to develop the evidence base on suicides that follow domestic abuse through funding the Domestic Homicide and Suspect Victim Suicides Project, which captures information on suicides with a known history of domestic abuse from all 43 police forces in England and Wales.
In the latest published data capturing deaths from April 2023 to March 2024, 262 deaths were counted, with 98 deaths (37%) classified as suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse. The full report can be found online: https://www.vkpp.org.uk/vkpp-work/domestic-homicide-project/
The Home Office also funds the organisation Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse to support families bereaved by suicide and unexplained deaths following domestic abuse. However, we recognise that more needs to be done to understand the link between domestic abuse and suicide and ultimately prevent future deaths. Our upcoming Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy will outline the Government’s work going forward to better understand and prevent all domestic abuse related deaths.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government when they will publish the feasibility study on the possibility of developing prevalence estimates of female genital mutilation and forced marriage, and their response to that study.
Lord Hanson of Flint: To prevent and respond effectively to forced marriage and FGM it is essential that we understand the prevalence of these crimes.
As such, the Home Office commissioned a feasibility study in 2023 to examine whether it is possible to produce robust prevalence estimates for FGM and forced marriage. We are currently considering the next steps in this area, and will set these out in due course.
While not markers of prevalence, the Government monitors other indicators of forced marriage and FGM to inform its understanding. These indicators include police recorded crime, contacts to the joint Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and Home Office Forced Marriage Unit, and data from the National Health Service in England and the courts.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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