Domestic Homicide and Suicide Reviews in Scotland: Statutory Guidance

Annex 2 – Glossary of Terms

Abusive Behaviour

Behaviour that a reasonable person would consider likely to cause physical or psychological harm (including fear, alarm, or distress) to the recipient. It covers all forms of behaviour, including words, actions, or failures to act, and can be directed at a person through property, or through a third party. The behaviour may involve a single incident or a pattern of conduct.

Adult at Risk

An adult at risk is a person who, immediately before the death, met the definition set out in section 3 of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007.

Care Experienced Children and Young People

Refers to children and young people with experience of being cared for in either foster or kinship care.

Case Review Panel

A group tasked with conducting domestic homicide or suicide reviews, led by a chair and including members with relevant insights or expertise. Tasked with analysing and reporting on key events, missed and taken opportunities, and making recommendations.

Child of

Includes a person who is a child of the perpetrator or the perpetrators partner or ex-partner or a child who is accepted as a child of perpetrator or the perpetrator’s partner or ex-partner. The child's age or living situation does not matter in this context—they could live separately and still be considered a child and they could be 40 years old and still be considered a child.

Connected Death

The death of young person that occurs as a result of an incident involving abusive behaviour, even if the young person was not the intended victim of the abusive behaviour and is not directly related to the perpetrator or the perpetrator’s partner or ex-partner. A death is only a connected death where the abusive behaviour has also led to a domestic abuse death or where, if a primary victim who survived had died, their death would have been a domestic abuse death.

Combined Review

A review conducted of one or more deaths, either due to common perpetrators or shared circumstances, which assesses each case in tandem.

Domestic Abuse Death

A death resulting from abusive behaviour in a relationship. The types of relationship covered are set out in section 12 of the 2025 Act. This can include deaths caused directly by the abuse, suicides influenced by the abuse, or violent resistant killings. In the latter two cases, the death will only be a domestic abuse death where abuser and victim were partners or ex-partners. Where victim and perpetrator are not partners or ex-partners, a death will only be a domestic abuse death where there has been abusive behaviour between the perpetrator and their current or former partner.

Determination

The formal decision made by the Review Oversight Committee on whether to hold a review following the receipt of a notification or referral of a death.

Designated Core Participants

Named bodies and entities listed under section 25, required to cooperate with the review process. These are:

• A local authority
• A health board
• A special health board
• The Chief Constable of Police Scotland
• The Scottish Police Authority
• The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner
• The Lord Advocate (for Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service)
• The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
• The Scottish Ministers in the exercise of their functions under the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 (i.e. the Scottish Prison Service)
• Community Justice Scotland
• Risk Management Authority
• Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (the Care Inspectorate)
• The Scottish Social Services Council
• Social Work Scotland Ltd

Domestic Homicide and Suicide Review

A review mechanism established to investigate certain deaths arising from abusive behaviour in relationships, focusing on learning systemic lessons rather than attributing liability and including the deaths of:

• A partner/ ex-partner of the perpetrator
• A perpetrator of domestic abuse by their partner or ex-partner who was experiencing domestic abuse
• The child of the perpetrator
• The child of the partner or ex-partner of the perpetrator
• A young person living in the same household as the perpetrator, or in the same household as the perpetrator’s partner or ex-partner
• A connected death

Discontinuation of Review Proceedings

Where the Lord Advocate orders the discontinuation of review proceedings under section 23.

Duty of Co-operation

An obligation placed on designated core participants as defined in section 25 to provide assistance and information to review bodies during the consideration or review of a death.

Guidance

Recommendations contained in a document issued by the Scottish Ministers (including this document) which are to be taken into account by the Review Oversight Committee and Case Review Panels.

Information Notice

A formal request for information made by Scottish Ministers or review bodies, requiring persons or organisations to provide necessary information.

Joint Review

A domestic homicide or domestic abuse related suicide review and a minimum of one other review where there is a crossover in remit and as such, come together under the auspices of a domestic homicide or domestic abuse related suicide review e.g. a domestic homicide review and a Child Protection Learning Review.

Key Lines of Inquiry

Key Lines of Inquiry are the central questions that guide the information sought and analysed as part of a domestic homicide and domestic abuse related suicide review. They focus the review on understanding what happened, why it happened, and how future harm can be prevented. Key Lines of Inquiry are designed to:

• Examine agency and system responses to the individuals involved.
• Identify gaps, missed opportunities, and areas of good practice.
• Explore patterns, risks, and contributing factors across services.
• Ensure a learning-focused and victim-centred approach to recommendations.

Key Lines of Inquiry are agreed early in the review process, typically during scoping and the first Case Review Panel meeting, and shape the structure of reports, chronologies, and panel discussions. Each Key Line of Inquiry should be specific, measurable, and aligned with the overall objectives of the domestic homicide or domestic abuse related suicide review.

Looked After Child

A child who has been placed under the care of local authorities, either through foster care or other child protection arrangements.

Lord Advocate

The head of the Scottish systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths, with the power to order the suspension or discontinuation of review proceedings to avoid conflicts with criminal proceedings or investigations.

Individual Management Review Report

A form completed by relevant agencies when they have been contacted to provide information on the persons that are subject to review.

Nominating Bodies

Organisations responsible for nominating members to the Review Oversight Committee.

Notification

A formal written communication to the Review Oversight Committee about a death that may require review. It must include relevant information and be copied to the Scottish Ministers.

Notifying Bodies

Entities responsible for notifying the Review Oversight Committee that they believe are reviewable deaths. In this context, Police Scotland’s Chief Constable, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner and the Lord Advocate are the notifying bodies.

Partner/ Ex-partner

Refers to someone who is married, in a civil partnership, or in an intimate relationship with another person. Ex-partner is interpreted accordingly with no requirement that the parties need to be living together to be partners.

Periodic Reports

Reports prepared and laid in the Scottish Parliament by Scottish Ministers summarising themes, key points, lessons learned from domestic homicide or domestic abuse related suicide reviews over the previous reporting period of two years.

Perpetrator/ Person A

The person who exhibits abusive behaviour towards another individual in a domestic relationship. For the purposes of domestic homicide and domestic abuse related suicide reviews, the term ‘perpetrator’ does not determine any criminal or other liability.

Principal Individuals

Key individuals involved in a review, such as friends, community members, or professionals who had a relationship with the subject of a domestic homicide or domestic abuse related suicide review.

Protocol

A formal agreement outlining processes and arrangements between key parties (Review Oversight Committee Chair, Chief Constable, Lord Advocate, Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, Scottish Ministers) to ensure review proceedings do not prejudice criminal investigations, proceedings, or inquiries.

Legally Privileged Information

Information that is protected from disclosure, which does not need to be provided in reviews or court proceedings. Typically this will include advice given by a lawyer to their client.

Referral

When Scottish Ministers bring a death to the Review Oversight Committee’s attention which has not been notified to the Committee by a notifying body, e.g. if the death occurred abroad.

Relevant Officeholder

An individual appointed as Chair or Deputy Chair of the Review Oversight Committee or Chair of a Case Review Panel.

Report

The document produced at the conclusion of a review by the Case Review Panel, including timelines of events, missed opportunities, conclusions, and recommendations.

Review Oversight Committee

A body established to oversee and ensure the conduct of domestic homicide and domestic abuse related suicide reviews, responsible for establishing Case Review Panels. The Review Oversight Committee includes a Chair, Deputy Chair, and members who are either nominated and approved by Ministers or appointed directly by Ministers.

Reviewable Death

A death which is eligible for review and will be reviewed if it is considered by the Review Oversight Committee to meet the sift criteria.

Review Proceedings

Formal processes undertaken by a Case Review Panel to examine the circumstances in the lead up to a death and in some cases, beyond the point of death. Review proceedings includes the preparing and submitting of domestic homicide and domestic abuse related suicide review reports.

Revocation of Notification

The process of withdrawing a notification when further information leads to the death no longer being considered reviewable or where the notification was made in error, so long as the Review Oversight Committee has not yet made a decision about reviewability.

Sift Stage

The phase in which the Review Oversight Committee determines whether a domestic homicide or domestic abuse related suicide review should be conducted into a reviewable death.

Suicide Contributing Factor

The involvement of abusive behaviour as a contributing factor to a person’s death by suicide. There does not need to be a direct causal link between the abusive behaviour and the suicide.

Suspension of Review Proceedings

A temporary halt in review processes ordered by the Lord Advocate, often to prevent interference with criminal investigations or proceedings.

Terms of Reference

The guidelines and objectives set by the Review Oversight Committee and amended by the Case Review Panel, that are to be followed during the review.

Victim/ Person B

A person who has died that was subjected to the abusive behaviour of the perpetrator (person A). At the time of the abusive behaviour the victim needs to of been the partner or ex-partner of the perpetrator, the child of the perpetrator, the child of the partner or ex partner of the perpetrator, or a young person living in the same household as the perpetrator. Victim also refers to the connected death of a young person.

Violent Resistance Killings

Where a person subjected to abusive behaviour kills their abusive partner or ex-partner.

Vulnerable Adult – An ‘adult at risk’

An adult at risk is someone aged 16 or over who:

• cannot look after their own well-being, property, rights or other interests
• is at risk of harm from themselves or someone else
• is disabled, or has a mental disorder, illness or physical or mental infirmity that means they're more vulnerable to being harmed than other adults.

The person's circumstances should be considered as a whole, and all three elements of the definition must be met for them to be classed as an adult at risk.

Young Person

An individual under 18 years old, or under 26 if they were in care (a ‘looked after’ child).