Peer-reviewed article

Homicide at home: setting the agenda for an international collaboration to improve support for children bereaved due to family violence.

Horn S, Hafstad G, Molyneaux R, Anzil V, Bartels L et al. · 14 Aug 2026

Abstract

Background: Bereavement due to fatal family violence (e.g. intimate partner homicide, filicide, parricide, siblicide) is a profoundly disruptive experience for children, with lifelong psychosocial consequences. Although the need for fatal family violence prevention is increasingly recognised internationally, support for bereaved children in the aftermath remains fragmented, inconsistent and largely dependent on local service availability rather than individual needs. Caregivers, often coping with their own grief, face extraordinary demands without adequate guidance or resources.Objective: This paper seeks to draw attention to the urgent need to focus on children bereaved by fatal family violence and develop an international, collaborative agenda that places the voices of young survivors and their caregivers at the centre.Methods: We held a workshop in Caen, Normandy, France, in 2025, to mark the launch of the international component of the five-year research programme Homicide at Home: Minimising the Impact on Young Survivors, funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. This workshop convened 33 researchers, clinicians, policymakers and advocates, including with lived experience, from 11 countries to develop a roadmap.Results: The envisaged agenda aims to centre the perspectives of people with lived and/or caregiving experience and comprises three interconnected components: (a) identifying existing knowledge, practices and resources; (b) shaping and curating an international repository; and (c) supporting the development of new research. The description of these elements is intended as both a starting point and an invitation.Conclusions: Fatal family violence leaves behind a significant number of children whose needs are urgent yet under-addressed. By working collectively across disciplines and countries, together with those who are the most affected, we can begin to address the long-term impact of these traumatic losses. We invite colleagues to join this initiative.