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

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.

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Publication Details

Journal
European Journal of Psychotraumatology
Published
2026-08-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2026.2692769
Primary Topic
Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

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

Bianca Harper, Konstantina Sklavou, Carolina Överlien, Lonneke I. M. Lenferink et al.
European Journal of Psychotraumatology
Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
article

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

Bianca Harper, Konstantina Sklavou, Carolina Överlien, Lonneke I. M. Lenferink, Éric Bui, Nancy Kassam‐Adams, Ann‐Christin Haag, Eva Alisic, James Rowlands, Arend Groot, Mariana Gonçalves, Theresa Schwaiger, Ophélie Nachon, Verónica Anzil, Geert E. Smid, Gertrud Sofie Hafstad, Zain Kurdi, Eva Zafra Aparici, John Devaney, Mira Vasileva, Frank Mullane, Coralie Creupelandt, Morgane Gindt, Markus A. Landolt, Lasse Bartels, Robyn Molyneaux, Arnaud Fernandez, Kathryn Joy, Stefanie Horn, Katherine Mautner, Vicky Carmichael
article en

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.

European Journal of PsychotraumatologyVol. 17(1)
University of Humanistic Studies (NL), Uppsala University (SE), Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (DE), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (US), The University of Melbourne (AU), University of Groningen (NL), Durham University (GB), University of Zurich (CH), Heidelberg University (DE), Université de Lille (FR), Institut Pasteur de Lille (FR), Scottish Government (GB), University Medical Center Utrecht (NL), Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (FI), National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre (AU), Arq Psychotrauma Expert Group (NL), University of West Attica (GR), German Police University (DE), Central Institute of Mental Health (DE), Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NO), Prevent Child Abuse America (US), University Children's Hospital Zurich (CH), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège (BE), Cognition Behaviour Technology (FR), Rauma Group (Norway) (NO), Supply Chain Competence Center (Germany) (DE), Arizona State University (US), Universitat Rovira i Virgili (ES), University of Twente (NL), University of Edinburgh (GB), Université de Caen Normandie (FR), University of Minho (PT)
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, European Commission, Medical Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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