Content warning: Suicide
A petition by a group of bereaved parents to ensure universities are required to have a legal duty of care for students has been handed in to Parliament for discussion.
The petition, organised by The Learn Network, a group of 25 families of students who have been lost to suicide, demands universities be ‘legally accountable for how students are treated’, and be more proactive in considering students’ mental health.
The petition, was handed in on Tuesday, 25 April with 128,293 signatures, joined by partners from the ‘#ForThe100’ movement which aims to highlight the average of 100 student suicide each year.
Natasha Abrahart’s parents sued the University of Bristol over her suicide in 2018, and won their claim under the Equality Act as Natasha’s social anxiety was classified as a disability.
The judge ruled her disability was not considered by the University in making adjustments to how she was assessed.
However, they lost the part of their case concerning negligence by UoB, as the judge claimed the University owed no duty of care to Natasha, due to a lack of statute or precedent that establishes such a duty by universities.
Natasha’s parents joined The Learn Network in submitting this petition.
Bob Abrahart, Natasha’s father, said: “As parents, we have lived with this every day since we lost our daughter.
“Handing in our petition to Number 10 is an important milestone. But what’s going to make the difference is bringing in changes to the law that will help to protect our students so no other families, friends, or communities have to experience the pain that we have.”
The Learn Network say they view legal duty of care as a stepping stone towards more compassionate higher education.
Learn Network spokesperson and author of the petition, Lee Fryatt said: “ Responsibility for pastoral care and student mental health is unclear for staff, students, and families. Glossy university prospectuses are misleading and attitudes and approaches to mental health are inconsistent to mental health inconsistent across the sector.
“Mental health would seem to be everyone’s business but no one’s responsibility. We must be more proactive. A statutory duty of care will force university leaders to face the challenge and invest in helping staff to confidently spot the early warning signs.”
Meanwhile, another petition that aims to have universities be more transparent about the number of student deaths as a result of suicide is drawing to a close.
The parents of Exeter student Harry Armstrong Evans started the petition for the enactment of ‘Harry’s Law’ last December after the death of their son in 2021, one month after he emailed his personal tutor and university wellbeing services to explain his decline in mental health.
Harry’s mother, Alice, said: “I was taken by surprise when I found out that Exeter University would not give me the information on suicides that I requested. I was even more surprised following a Freedom of Information Act request that, again, the true numbers were not made known.
“I found out that no universities kept records of student suicides. No records of such deaths were kept anywhere, and if students took their own lives outside of a university campus or accommodation, then it was quite likely that the university would not even know about the suicide.”
Read more about what she had to say here.
The petition for Harry’s Law closes on Monday, 8 May.