There has been a sizeable rise in the number of victims of domestic abuse who took their own lives in England and Wales, official figures show.

Some 150 people are suspected of taking their own lives in the year to March 2025, up from 98 suicides in the previous 12 months, according to data from the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC).

Police believe improved awareness and a change in reporting practice have driven the rise in the figures.

The Domestic Homicide Project found 8% of victims were aged 16 to 24 years old.

For the first time, in one of the cases reported, both the victim and suspect were aged under 18.

The report also showed that a "significantly higher proportion" of young people aged 16 to 19 years old were victims of domestic abuse (18.

2%), compared to those who are 25 and above.

Louisa Rolfe, the national police lead for domestic abuse with the NPCC, said dangerous internet content may be contributing to cases involving teenagers.

"People are now much more likely to access violent pornography which normalises violence and behaviour in a relationship," she said. "We see the connection between the sort of sense of toxic influencers online and their sort of views that are promoted about women and women's status in society. "

The Domestic Homicide Project said there were 347 deaths linked to domestic abuse in the 12 months to March 2025, including 80 intimate partner homicides.

Women made up 73% of those suicides and victims were mostly ethnically white.

Most suspects were male with many previously known to the police.

The project said the increase reflected improved awareness and recording of suicides after a change in practice last year which requires officers to check for a history of domestic abuse at the scenes of suicides and unexpected deaths. The BBC recently examined the rising numbers of women and girls killed by men and found many of the crimes happened in a home or residential setting. The domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales said the findings showed the system was still not working to save lives.

"We know many of these victims will have been in contact with agencies numerous times before they died," Dame Nicole Jacobs said.

It is inexcusable that more is not being done to ensure victims get the support and protection they need before it's too late

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