Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews (DARDRs)

Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews (DARDRs, previously Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs)) are:

‘a review of the circumstances in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by:

1. A person to whom he was related or with whom he was or had been in an intimate person relationship, or
2. A member of the same household as himself

held with a view to identifying the lessons to be learnt from the death¹'.

In 2024, Domestic Homicide Reviews were renamed Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews in order to recognise those victims who die after suicide, coercive and controlling behaviour and economic abuse.

The purpose of a Domestic Abuse Related Death Review is to:

1. Establish what lessons are to be learned from the death regarding the way in which local professionals and organisations work individually and together to safeguard victims;
2. Identify clearly what those lessons are both within and between agencies, how and within what timescales they will be acted on, and what is expected to change as a result;
3. Apply these lessons to service responses including changes to inform national and local policies and procedures as appropriate;
4. Prevent domestic violence and homicide/death and improve service responses for all domestic violence and abuse victims and their children by developing a co-ordinated multi-agency approach to ensure that domestic abuse is identified and responded to effectively at the earliest opportunity;
5. Contribute to a better understanding of the nature of domestic violence and abuse; and
6. Highlight good practice.

The county DARDR protocol is available the here.

DARDRs are the responsibility of the Community Safety Partnership of the relevant district council. The reviews are commissioned in conjunction with Safer Gloucestershire, and countywide oversight of the learning and recommendations is held by Safer Gloucestershire to ensure countywide accountability.

You can find the DARDR final reports or executive summaries on the district council websites below by clicking on their logo: