A new national report has, for the first time, identified a suspected suicide following teenage relationship abuse, raising concerns that younger victims of abuse may be going undetected – and unsupported.
The Domestic Homicides and Suspected Victim Suicides 2020–2025 report from the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls’ Year 5, documents a case in which both the victim and the suspected perpetrator were under the age of 18. This is the first time a suspected suicide linked to abuse within a teenage relationship has been formally recognised.
The finding raises concerns that younger victims of abuse may be going undetected – and unsupported. A key issue is how domestic abuse is defined in law. The statutory definition applies only to individuals aged 16 and over, meaning incidents involving those under 16 may not be recorded as domestic abuse or domestic homicide. As a result, cases involving younger teenagers risk being excluded from official data and safeguarding frameworks, making them less visible for support.
Woman’s Trust is the leading mental health specialist for women recovering from domestic abuse. For 30 years, it has addressed trauma and helped rebuild lives long after the violence ends.
Laura McCarthy, a psychotherapist and Trustee at the charity, says the inclusion of a teenage case reflects a broader and deeply concerning trend.
“Domestic abuse today is nastier than society realises and it’s affecting younger victims too. Survival shouldn’t end in suicide.”
The charity warns that abuse is becoming increasingly psychological and coercive, with younger women and girls particularly at risk. Data shows those aged 16 to 19 experience domestic abuse at twice the rate of women over 25.
As well as Woman’s Trust’s support for women of all ages, it also provides specialist workshops and 1-1 counselling sessions for young women and girls.
This is for survivors who identify as being at risk of domestic abuse, or who have previously experienced abusive or unhealthy relationships.
Suicides after domestic abuse have outstripped homicides for the third year running, according to the report.
It found 150 suspected victim suicides linked to domestic abuse in the past year and 553 over five years, highlights how often warning signs are already known. In 88 per cent of suicide cases, the abuse had previously been reported to police.
Laura highlights a lack of specialist mental health support for survivors of abuse, with policy responses focused on housing and criminal justice. However, the psychological impact – including trauma, self-harm and suicide risk – remains insufficiently addressed.
Through Woman’s Trust’s Living Without Hope campaign, it is calling for £27.5 million per year to provide specialist mental health support for domestic abuse survivors.
Half of the women who approach the charity for specialist mental health support after domestic abuse are turned away due to chronic underfunding – leaving vulnerable survivors at heightened risk of suicide.
The emergence of a teenage suicide case within the dataset underscores the urgency of closing support gaps.
Without changes to how abuse among younger people is responded to, Woman’s Trust warn that some of the most vulnerable victims may remain effectively invisible – even as the consequences become more severe.
“Domestic abuse is destroying lives and it’s changing form,” Laura says. “We can’t afford to overlook what’s happening to younger victims and keep turning survivors away.”
Read the full NCVPP report
Read the Living Without Hope report
Read our Open Letter to Ministers
