100 students die by suicide at university each year. These parents are fighting to change that

Each year 100 university students die by suicide, but as it stands universities have no legal duty of care to keep students safe. Dedicated family members are fighting to change that. 

ForThe100 is a nation-wide grassroots organisation campaigning to get universities to have a statutory duty of care over students. It emerged after 25 bereaved families came together to fight for answers, having lost their children whilst they were students at UK universities, and is now made up of people of all ages and backgrounds dedicated to win students the rights they deserve.

The group started with the parents of 20 year old Natasha Abrahart, a former student at the University of Bristol. Natasha had been diagnosed with depression and chronic social anxiety disorder and she had let staff know that the oral presentation of her second year physics assessment was causing her anxiety and panic attacks. She had informed university staff, the student GP practice, and the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Trust that she was struggling with suicidal ideation and had acted on these thoughts. Sadly, in 2018 Natasha took her life on the day that she had been scheduled to participate in a major group presentation. 

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In May 2022, the County Court ruled that the University of Bristol had breached its duty to make reasonable adjustments in Natasha’s assessments and had engaged in indirect disability discrimination, failing to offer her protection under the Equality Act. The university appealed against the decision, but earlier this year, the appeal was rejected, which Natasha’s parents believe will set a precedent for triggering a recognition that universities must adjust their methods of teaching to avoid discriminating against disabled students.

But Natasha isn’t alone. She was the tenth of 11 Bristol students to die in an 18 month period, revealing the systemic failure that universities were complicit in. “Talking to other families we realised that a duty of care was necessary in most cases. There’s always something someone should have done but didn’t,” her father Bob Abrahart told Big Issue.

The current legal loophole over duty of care is preventing students from getting the help they need when they’re in crisis. Theo was a student at the University of East Anglia. He had ticked the consent form for his parents to be contacted in cases of emergencies, but following a suicide attempt, his parents were not informed. Despite Theo following all university guidance, giving the wellbeing team written consent to contact his next of kin in emergencies, the university did not contact his family. 

Soon after in March 2019, Theo’s flatmates had called security services to alert them to Theo’s mental state, but inaction meant he died by suicide that night. His parents believe the University of East Anglia’s failed to recognise his known vulnerabilities as a first year student with Asperger’s and their reluctance to initiate action from the wellbeing team when he did not attend his wellbeing appointment six days prior to his death was a systemic failure. 

The family members who make up ForThe100 believe that regardless of whether universities have a legally binding duty of care, they have a moral and professional duty over their students and this should extend to acting to protect them from harm. A legal duty of care on universities for their students could mean that staff are better equipped to help students through a crisis, and provide vital wellbeing support. “Had all staff at Theo’s university been trained in safeguarding as part of their annual legal duty and had they got updated policies that actually work to genuinely support the students, then Theo would still be here,” said his mum Esther, who is now a campaigner with ForThe100.

But as it stands, this legal gap means that universities can avoid accountability, and there is a reluctance for the sector to take action. Legislative change in parliament could force the higher education sector to act. In 2023, the group reached over 100,000 signatures on their parliamentary petition to introduce a statutory duty of care. But universities minister Robert Halfon opted to establish a new higher education mental health taskforce to tackle student wellbeing, rejecting a statutory duty of care. “These things are all used to silence us and you’ll find it’s very difficult for grieving bereaved families to keep the pressure up,” said Bob Abrahart. “The sector isn’t looking at root causes, they’re looking for silly, quick fixes.”

One aspect of this taskforce is the introduction of the National Review of Higher Education Student Suicides, but concerningly, the review would only consider lessons from suicides that might happen in the future, rather than historic cases. “This is not just about suicide, we need to go upstream to find out what’s causing the distress and work on that, rather than just looking at where people arrive at the end, and that’s where duty of care applies from the start,” Maggie Abrahart said to Big Issue. In order for the taskforce to focus on prevention of future suicides, the campaign stresses it is critical to include past suicides in the review. 

Suicide is just the tip of the iceberg, and they stress that they are not just campaigning for the lives lost, but for preventive action on suicide and proactive mental health support, stressing that if it were for a statutory duty of care, their children might still be alive today. An intersectional perspective on mental health struggles is one of their demands, and this has come from knowing that students can be vulnerable to suicide for a wide range of reasons. ForThe100 are fighting for justice for one student who was lost to suicide following an incorrect assessment result which told them they had failed their retake, due to administrative errors by the university. “Duty of care is not medical care, it’s not about mental health, it’s about doing the right thing and doing it sooner rather than when its too late,” said Bob Abrahart.

Currently, the group are lobbying MPs to get action, and they attended the Liberal Democrats conference in Brighton last weekend, a party which had the statutory duty of care in their recent manifesto. 

Professor Evelyn Welch, vice-chancellor and president of the University of Bristol, said: “At Bristol, we care profoundly for all our students and their mental health and wellbeing is a priority and is at the heart of everything we do. We continue to develop and improve our services and safeguards to support our students who need help.

“In appealing, we were seeking clarity for the higher education sector around the application of the Equality Act when staff do not know a student has a disability, or when it has yet to be diagnosed. We will work with colleagues across the sector as we consider the judgment.”

Big Issue has also contacted the the University of East Anglia and the Department for Education for comment.

Get help if you are struggling. Call Samaritans for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org for useful resources and advice on coping. Mind also has a confidential information and support line, Mind Infoline, available on 0300 123 3393 (lines open 9am-6pm, Monday-Friday).

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