{"id":92597,"date":"2023-04-25T07:46:19","date_gmt":"2023-04-25T07:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2023\/04\/25\/student-suicides-universities-must-do-more-to-protect-students-from-harm\/"},"modified":"2023-04-25T07:46:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T07:46:19","slug":"student-suicides-universities-must-do-more-to-protect-students-from-harm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2023\/04\/25\/student-suicides-universities-must-do-more-to-protect-students-from-harm\/","title":{"rendered":"Student suicides: ‘Universities must do more to protect students from harm’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A group of parents whose children killed themselves at university are campaigning for a law change to make institutions more accountable.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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They demand that universities have a legal duty of care towards students – the same duty that applies to employers to protect their employees in the workplace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This would mean that organizations providing educational and pastoral services to their students would protect them from what the law calls “reasonably foreseeable harm” – a risk to their well-being that the university should have been aware of.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A petition by activists, which has garnered more than 100,000 signatures as part of a movement called #ForThe100, is due to be tabled at Downing Street on Tuesday and it is hoped it will be considered for parliamentary debate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Some of the families behind it have spoken to the BBC about what they hope to gain from it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A video shared on social media by Hilary Grime shows a moment from her daughter Phoebe’s 18th birthday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While cutting the cake, Hilary asks Phoebe if she wants anything.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I have no wishes – I’m actually happy in life,” Phoebe replies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But just over two years later, in June 2021, Phoebe killed herself while in her second year of philosophy at Newcastle University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hilary, 58, from Cranbrook in Kent, remembers her daughter as a happy, energetic girl with a great sense of humor and a love of sports – particularly surfing and ice hockey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“She was such a special person,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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During her time in Newcastle, Phoebe has struggled to cope with both lockdown – during which she has been confined to her room – and her father Jeremy’s diagnosis of end-stage lung cancer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hilary says her daughter sought help and received advice from the university – confiding in them she had a plan to kill herself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But no word was ever shared with Hilary, who says Phoebe was denied the help she so desperately needed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“She was just so lonely,” she says. \u201cShe had contacted the university.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“They had my number and I always thought they would call me if something was wrong, but they never did until she died.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hilary has joined the petition calling on universities to offer the same duty of care to students that employers have to their employees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“If it were, our children would still be alive today,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAll universities have different policies, with some offering better advice or better information sharing than others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThey all have to do the same thing and work to the same standard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt needs to be a tightly focused framework that applies to all academic teaching and student support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe have to fight for this, for current and future students. That’s what Phoebe would have wanted and I’ll continue to do that for her.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A spokesman for Newcastle University said: “Phoebe will be fondly remembered as a talented and popular student.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cDuring her 18 months here, our dedicated wellbeing team provided her with continuous support and advice. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“The coroner in Phoebe’s investigation could not identify anything that the university or her private counsel could have done differently. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Despite this, we are constantly striving to improve support services and work with key partners to help every student struggling with their mental health.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cOur petition is very simple. She calls on the government to enact a statutory duty of care for the higher education sector.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cEveryone assumes that universities have a duty of care.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Natasha, the daughter of Bob and Maggie Abrahart from West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, killed herself in 2018 on the day she was due to attend a group presentation in a 329-seat auditorium at the University of Bristol.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The 20-year-old’s parents filed legal action because the university failed to make adjustments for her social anxiety disorder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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However, although they won part of their case, the judge wasn’t convinced that the university owed Natasha a duty of care.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Its ruling noted that “there is no law or precedent establishing the existence of such a duty of care by a university to a student”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That’s why the Abraharts want new laws.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We want other people to be properly protected,” says Bob.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cTherefore we are calling on the government to enact a statutory duty of care to offset the fact that there is no duty of care in this country. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“That won’t help Natasha.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBut there are about 2.7 million students in this country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“In our view, each of them deserves the same level, the same minimum level of protection as university employees do in their jobs.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“His death cannot be in vain. It’s so unnecessary, so avoidable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Maxine Carrick began asking questions after the death of her son Oskar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Oskar was just 21 when he committed suicide in his student residence at Sheffield Hallam University in 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It wasn’t until after his death that Maxine found out he’d tried to kill himself two months earlier – but the university hadn’t informed his parents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I just thought universities had a duty of care to their students – I couldn’t believe they didn’t,” says Maxine, who, as a secondary school teacher, was well aware of the demands schools face in caring for students.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhere was the risk assessment when he went back to his halls?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We’re not asking colleges to do the same things that schools do — just the same duty of care to students that they already have to demonstrate to their own staff.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She says Oskar was classified as a disabled student after he was involved in a car accident in 2019 that affected his sleep and memory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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However, he had been deregistered before going to Sheffield Hallam where he was a film student.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Growing up, he was pretty quiet, pretty sensitive, and had a wacky sense of humor,” says Maxine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cHe loved cycling and as he got older he loved being around people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Since the accident he’s felt like he’s not connecting with his friends, but we didn’t know the depth.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said the lack of information she received from the university about her son was “shocking”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“To this day, I believe there are things they didn’t tell us,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“There must be a duty of care, especially when a student is identified as disabled and at risk.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A spokesman for Sheffield Hallam University said: “The university community was saddened by the loss of Oskar and we would like to once again extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“The investigations into Oskar’s tragic death have revealed no omissions on the part of the university.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Universities UK, which bills itself as the collective voice of 140 universities, has been reluctant to change legislation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Universities are prioritizing the mental health of students and staff, with a particular focus on preventing student suicide,” says a spokesman.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cEvery life lost to suicide is a tragedy and we are committed to working with those left behind to learn from those deaths. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cA record number of children and young adults are now suffering from poor mental health and this is reflected in a growing need for students.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAlthough universities are investing in student support and developing partnerships with NHS services, their primary role is adult education, not healthcare. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We do not believe that the proposed additional statutory duty of care over and above the existing duties already in place for universities would be practical, proportionate or the best approach to student support.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The families hope that the number of signatures will lead to a parliamentary debate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Petitions that receive more than 100,000 signatures are considered by the Petitions Committee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Petitions that reach 100,000 signatures are almost always debated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If you are affected by any of the issues in this article, you can find details of organizations that can help you <\/i>BBC Action Line.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Follow BBC East Midlands on <\/i>FacebookAt <\/i>Twitter<\/a>or on <\/i>Instagram. Submit your story ideas to <\/i>eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n