@Wantocrawlintoadarkcave
Violence, whoever is the perpetrator, is abhorrent. However, there are some MH conditions that do exacerbate abandonment issues, impulsivity, instability and emotional disregulation. People never like to discuss it, but I think if you talk to any psychiatric consultant they would say that certain aspects of certain personality disorders may in fact make it more likely that sufferers may be prone to violence in certain situations. Remember that CF was also violent towards herself on the night of the incident and then very sadly committed the ultimate act of violence towards herself later on. It's not a comfortable thing to acknowledge but those saying "mental health" is never an excuse - or never a contributory factor - aren't entirely correct. The question of degree of responsibility presumably relates to whether the patient consistently pursues and accepts treatment , if diagnosis and treatment is available to them of course. And some patients respond better to treatment than others.
It's true that some personality disorders make violence more likely. Such disorders CAN be a contributory factor. But "personalty disorder" has only very, very rarely been accepted as a defence in a court of law, nor do I think it should be: personality-disordered people do have the ability to make choices. (Unlike, for example, someone in a severe acute psychotic episode who has lost connection to reality. That's where the defence "diminished responsibility" is usually offered and sometimes accepted.)
The way Caroline Flack has been made into a tragic figure by the media (inc the makers of this programme) appals me. Yes, she was chronically distressed. Yes, she found break-ups very painful. But she attacked her partner, too right she was charged with a crime! To repeatedly leave this detail out of programmes/articles about her, or to mention it only in passing and in the most euphemistic terms, minimises what was happening.
I know her partner later wanted the case dropped but really, that is a common scenario in DV: the injured party is genuinely anxious about the violence against them escalating if the case proceeds. They want to forget the whole thing ever happened, to push it under the carpet. It's a form of denial that doesn't help the abused partner and nor, in the long term, does it do anything to challenge the abuser's behaviour.
Domestic abuse and domestic violence blights lives. Yes, some domestic abusers go on to kill themselves but let's not forget who the real victims are.