Voicing Loss: Meanings and Implications of Participation by Bereaved People in Inquests: Qualitative Interviews and Group Discussions, 2021-2024

The Voicing Loss research project examined the role of bereaved people in coroners’ investigations and inquests. Research data comprise interview transcripts, interview write-ups and one written submission. The total number of interviews will differ from the number of uploaded transcripts, as participants were given the choice to opt out of having their transcript included in the repository.

Coroners in England and Wales are independent judicial officers who investigate violent, unnatural and unexplained deaths, and deaths in prison or other forms of state detention. Every year, around 200,000 deaths are reported to the coroner, and well over 30,000 inquests are held. The Voicing Loss project was a collaboration between the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London, and the Centre for Death & Society at the University of Bath. The project examined the role of bereaved people in coroners’ investigations and inquests, as defined in law and policy and as experienced in practice. It also explored ways in which the inclusion and participation of bereaved people in the process can be better supported. The core component of the research involved interviews with 89 individuals who had come into contact with the coroner service following the death of someone they were close to. The researchers also interviewed 82 coronial professionals (including coroners, coroners’ officers, lawyers and others) and 19 individuals who had given evidence to an inquest in a professional capacity or supported colleagues who were witnesses. This constitutes the largest ever empirical study of lay and professional experiences of the coronial process in England and Wales. The study’s key findings are presented in a series of research reports and policy and practice briefings available through the dedicated project website, https://voicing-loss.icpr.org.uk/.

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