Domestic Homicide and Suicide Reviews
Domestic Homicide and Suicide Reviews were introduced in Scotland in April 2026.
A review may be carried out when someone, of any sex or gender, dies and domestic abuse is known or suspected.
They bring organisations together to understand what happened, identify learning and improve responses to domestic abuse.
They examine how agencies worked together before the death and consider what could be done differently in the future. They do not seek to blame individuals or investigate criminal responsibility.
They were introduced under the Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Act 2025.
Domestic Homicide and Suicide Review Oversight Committee
The police will usually notify the review oversight committee when a death is known or suspected to be related to domestic abuse.
The Scottish Government set up this independent committee. It has a chair, deputy chair and experts in domestic abuse and related areas.
The committee considers the information available and decides whether a review should take place. If it decides a review is to go ahead, it is required to do so by law. It will proceed even if the family and friends of the victim do not wish to take part.
The review panel
An independent chair leads each review, supported by a panel of experts from different organisations. This can include the police, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, criminal justice social work and victims' organisations.
Other experts may include those with knowledge of aspects relevant to the case, such as disability or cultural awareness.
Families, friends, colleagues and members of the wider community who knew the victim may be invited to contribute. We recognise that taking part can be difficult. Advocacy support is available for families, children and young people from Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse.
After gathering all relevant information, the review panel will produce a report setting out what happened, learning identified, what worked well and what could be improved.
A summary of each completed review will be published on gov.scot, unless there is a legal reason why information cannot be published.
Guidance
Domestic homicide and suicide reviews: statutory guidance explains how the Review Oversight Committee and review panels should operate, what they must consider and the steps they should follow.
Public information
Information is available about the review process and what to expect if you are asked to take part.
If you think someone's death may be related to domestic abuse, you can contact Scottish Ministers. They will refer it to the review oversight committee.
You can find all the related materials at: Domestic Homicide and Suicide Review resources.
Background
Domestic homicide and suicide reviews were developed by a multi-agency taskforce that met between 2022 and 2026. The Scottish model draws on approaches used in other countries and existing review processes in Scotland. It has been informed by experts and those with lived experience.
Find out more on the Domestic Homicide and Suicide Review Taskforce page.
Contact
You can contact the Domestic Homicide and Suicide Review team by email at: dhsrmodel@gov.scot.