The bereaved parents of a student who took her own life after her university discriminated against her have called for new laws to protect students. Natasha Abrahart, a student at the University of Bristol, took her own life on the same day she was due to take part in a group presentation in a 329-seat lecture theatre.
A judge ruled earlier this year that the University had contributed to Natasha's suicide, as reasonable adjustments were not made for her social anxiety disorder. The University of Bristol was ordered to pay £50,000 in compensation by the County Court for the way they treated the 20-year-old physics student.
The University asked for permission to appeal the ruling, but was refused yesterday, Wednesday, October 6 - but are now taking their appeal to the high court. Natasha's parents, Margaret and Robert Abrahart, from Nottingham, have now spoken out to demand the Government introduce new laws to protect students.
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Margaret, 60, said: "While Natasha’s needless death will always remain a tragic waste of life and something we’ll never overcome, we’ve always been steadfast in our determination not to let it be totally in vain. We were able to win our case, and to get some justice for Natasha, because she was a disabled person as defined by the Equality Act.
"However, the lack of a more general duty of care means that many other students are still at risk and need to be protected. Families are also likely to find it very difficult to get justice if the student in question is not disabled. That just doesn’t seem right.”
In May His Honour Judge Alex Ralton found the university had breached its duties under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments to the way it assessed Natasha. Mr and Mrs Abrahart now say the lack of duty of care laws independent of the Equality Act limits protection for students - as it does not protect students without a disability.
They are now calling for a new law to be put in place to protect all students in higher education. Robert, 66, a retired university teacher said: "Although the judge in our case found that the university caused Natasha’s death by discriminating against her, he said he couldn’t find that the university was negligent because it didn’t owe Natasha a ‘common law duty of care’.
"This is liable to create confusion among students, universities and parents. There needs to be greater clarity on the duties universities owe to all students, particularly when providing support for mental health problems.
"This is not just about ‘picking up the pieces’ after something goes wrong. It is about acting with reasonable care and skill from the very start.
"We’ve repeatedly called on the University of Bristol to sit down with us, to learn from what happened to Natasha, and put in place the changes they need to make in order to keep students like her safe. But nobody seems to be listening, and our offer still hasn’t been taken up.
"Given the current situation, we feel the only way to improve student safety is for there to be clear laws and practices in place which universities need to be measured against." The couple are among 25 bereaved families who have come together and set up ‘The LEARN Network’.
They have launched a petition to create the first statutory legal duty of care for students in higher education. A statement from the University of Bristol said: "After carefully considering the judgement and its implications for the higher education sector, we will be seeking leave from the High Court to appeal the judge's finding that the University was in breach of the Equality Act.
"We would like to make it clear that this appeal is not against the Abrahart family, nor are we disputing the specific circumstances of Natasha's death. We remain deeply sorry for their loss and we are not contesting the damages awarded by the judge.
"In appealing, we are seeking absolute 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 hope it will also enable us to provide transparency to students and their families about how we support them and to give all university staff across the country the confidence to do that properly."
You can sign the petition for the 'statute for student safety' here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/622847
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