Around two women a week in England and Wales lose their lives at the hands of a partner or ex partner. Since 2011 all murders that are classed as 'domestic' - that is - by a partner, ex partner or family member, have to be investigated to see if they could have been prevented. This involves conducting a 'Domestic Homicide Review' under rules set down by the Home Office. An independent person is appointed to look at all the circumstances leading up to the person's death and so far I have been asked to chair four of these Inquiries.  

My role is to ask questions of any organisations the victim contacted prior to their death, such as the police or specialist domestic violence agencies; to see if they told anyone they were subject to domestic abuse, to look into their medical records and those of the perpetrator; and to listen to the voice of anyone who can throw light on anything that could have been done differently. In this sense the 'silent witness' is the person who has lost their life as a result of the actions of someone who once loved and cared for them.  

My talk will explore what can be learnt from these reviews, and looks at some of the circumstances around the murders, including some discussion of the supposed motives and what could have been done to prevent these sad and unnecessary deaths.