Domestic homicide and suicide review standards
Document Type
Standards
Summary
The Scottish Government has commissioned us to work with stakeholders to develop standards which support a multi-agency and multidisciplinary response to domestic homicide and suicide.
The standards will be closely aligned to the work developed under the remit of the Scottish Government’s Domestic Homicide and Suicide Review Taskforce and the legislative framework of the Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Bill, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 7 October 2025. Healthcare Improvement Scotland have previously published a report from stakeholder workshops on behalf of the Domestic and Suicide Review Taskforce and is a member of the Taskforce.
The standards development group will be co-chaired by: Professor John Devaney Head of the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh and Dr Edward Doyle, Deputy Medical Director NHS Lothian who both have extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of domestic abuse and fatality review systems.
The development group will include strategic and operational expertise from across health, social care, justice and third sector. The work will be underpinned by the experiences of people with lived experience and families.
Work to develop the scope for the standards is currently underway and we would welcome your feedback on the draft.
Scope consultation survey
The scope engagement period will open for three weeks from Monday 19 January 2026.
The consultation on the draft scope closes on Monday 9 February 2026
What we are consulting on
The document we are consulting on sets out the scope for the DHSR standards and covers:
- The purpose of the standards
- Scope of the standards
- Standards development principles and domains
- Standards development group membership
- Related development sources
To note, we are not seeking feedback on the types of deaths covered within the standards as this is set out in the Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Act 2025 and related statutory guidance (expected in Spring 2026)
Consultation feedback
Feedback on the draft scope will be reviewed and themed by the project team. The development group will formally agree the scope at the first meeting. A summary of the responses to scope engagement will be made available on request from the project team.
For further information on the background to this project or standards development, please contact the project team at his.standardsandindicators@nhs.scot
Help and support
If you have been affected by anything on this page and would like support you can contact the Scottish Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline.