Thread by @CCChatMagazine

In 2006 the first attempt in the British courts was made, to mount a unique prosecution for "psychological manslaughter" .

THREAD

#domesticabuse
#coercivecontrol
#suicidality
#psychologicalmanslaughter
theguardian.com/uk/2006/may/16…

Harcharran Dhaliwal was accused of the manslaughter of his wife Gurjit. The 45-year-old mother of two sons was found hanged with a fresh wound on her forehead.

Her diary catalogued incidents of violence and psychological abuse. Her husband admitted causing the wound.

At the time, defence lawyers won a ruling from an Old Bailey judge that Dhaliwal could not be held criminally liable for his wife's death and the case could not go ahead. This decision was upheld on appeal.

Gurjit’s brother said, of the decision: “ My sister experienced years of psychological abuse and domestic violence. I witnessed the results of this and amongst other things her handwritten journals bear witness to this abuse......”

“How can there be so much evidence and yet no punishment for taking my sister's life?"

The appeal court judges said that causing a recognised psychiatric illness by abuse could amount to bodily harm and if it caused a suicide it could come within the ambit of manslaughter.

But while psychiatrists and psychologists told prosecutors they believed that the abuse had triggered Gurjit Dhaliwal’s decision to take her own life, there was insufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that she suffered from a recognised psychiatric illness.

Nazir Afzal said: “The decision to bring a prosecution was not taken lightly. We desperately wanted the jury to hear about the life of Gurjit and what she is alleged to have suffered at the hands of her husband, Harcharran. Regrettably that won't happen now.”

He said the CPS had brought the groundbreaking prosecution to establish the principle, which the appeal court accepted, "that if you harm your partner and cause them physical and mental harm and subsequently drive them to suicide, then you can be guilty of manslaughter.”

As a result of the decision, Refuge called for the Law Commission to urgently review the whole area of psychological manslaughter as part of its current Homicide Review.

The suicide of Gurjit Dhaliwal was also the origin of this research:

Munro VE, Aitken R (2019). From hoping to help: Identifying and responding to suicidality amongst victims of domestic abuse. International Review of Victimology. Available from: doi.org/10.1177/026975…