Father of student who took own life asks: 'How many more have to die?'

CALL FOR UNIVERSITIES TO HAVE STATUTORY DUTY OF CARE DEBATED IN THE COMMONS

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

THE father of a young woman who took her own life at university says the system to protect students remains a "mess" and has questioned, "how many more have got to die?

Robert and Margaret Abrahart, from West Bridgford, have spent years campaigning with other families for universities to have a statutory duty of care for their students.

Natasha Abrahart took her own life in 2018 on the day she was due to give a presentation in a 329-seat lecture theatre at the University of Bristol.

The university was later ordered to pay £50,000 in compensation after a court found it did not make reasonable adjustments for the 20-year-old's social anxiety disorder.

The Abraharts are founders of the ForThe100 campaign group, referencing the 160 higher education students who on average die by suicide in England and Wales each year.

The group has long called for universities to have a recognised legal duty of care for their students, bringing them in line with the legal duty of care employers have for their workers.

A petition was previously debated in 2023 and the issue returned to Parliament on Tuesday through a debate organised by the Labour MP for Rushcliffe, James Naish.

The debate ended with a government minister suggesting that a statutory duty of care for universities could be "disproportionate", something Mr Naish urged to be reconsidered.