Domestic Homicide Reform
The government has proposed a new 25-year sentencing starting point for murders of current or former partners. Here's what the changes mean - and why campaigners say they matter
The government has announced plans to introduce a new 25-year sentencing starting point for people convicted of murdering a current or former intimate partner.
The proposal seeks to address a long-recognised inconsistency in the sentencing framework. Until now, someone who killed their partner using a weapon already in the home - such as a kitchen knife - could face a lower sentencing starting point than someone who arrived at the scene carrying a weapon.
Under the proposed changes, the relationship between the victim and offender - not where the weapon came from - would determine whether the new starting point applies, recognising the distinct dynamics and seriousness of domestic homicide.
The proposals also follow a seven-year campaign led by the mothers of Ellie Gould, Poppy Devey-Waterhouse and Megan Newborough. They argued that the existing sentencing framework failed to recognise the realities of domestic homicide, allowing offenders to receive a lower sentencing starting point simply because the weapon was already in the home. Their campaigning helped bring renewed attention to how the law responds to fatal domestic abuse.
Importantly, victims of domestic abuse who kill their abuser would be excluded from the new starting point. The proposals are subject to consultation with the Sentencing Council and, if introduced, would apply to future cases rather than retrospectively.
Why this matters
When domestic abuse ends in homicide, it is rarely an isolated act of violence. More often, it is the culmination of coercion, control and escalating abuse. Over the past five years, around 47 people each year have been murdered by a current or former intimate partner. In the year ending March 2025, 21% of all homicide victims were killed in domestic circumstances.
Domestic homicide reviews and years of campaigning have highlighted that these murders are often the devastating outcome of coercion, control and escalating abuse - patterns too often missed, misunderstood or inadequately addressed. Recognising that reality within the sentencing framework matters - not only because of the sentence itself, but because of what it says about how the justice system understands domestic abuse.
Meaningful change rarely comes from a single reform. But when the justice system better reflects the realities of abuse, it has the potential to strengthen accountability, build public confidence and better recognise the experiences of those affected. We'll be watching these proposals closely as they progress.
