A couple whose undergraduate daughter had crippling social anxiety when she took her own life after alerting university staff to her suicidal feelings, are calling for duty of care to students to become statutory for higher education providers.
Bob and Maggie Abrahart’s daughter Natasha had become so anxious about a forthcoming public presentation that she had emailed staff at the University of Bristol, where she was studying physics, saying: “I’ve been having suicidal thoughts and to a certain degree attempted it.”
But she was not excused and, three months later, in April 2018, when she was due to make the presentation in front of the whole class, Natasha, 20, died..
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, as thousands of students are starting the new university term, Bob 68, says: “After Natasha died, we were appalled to learn she was the tenth of eleven students to die at Bristol university within an 18 month period.
“It felt like a lot of these students suffered death by indifference and we don’t think that’s acceptable.”
In May 2022, the Abraharts, who also have a son, successfully sued the University of Bristol, claiming that it had breached the European Human Rights Act by discriminating against Natasha’s disability – her severe social anxiety – and were awarded a £50,000 payout. A judge ruled that there had been breaches of the Equality Act 2010, which amounted to disability discrimination.
In December 2023, an appeal by the university against the decision was rejected, but the judge declined to rule on whether it owed Natasha a duty of care under the law of negligence.
Now, as part of their ForThe100 campaign – a group uniting and offering support to families like them and named in memory of the approximately 100 students who commit suicide at university every year – the Abraharts are fighting to make duty of care to students a legal requirement for higher education providers.
Last year, ForThe100 – which also provides support, practical and emotional help and guidance to bereaved parents – submitted a 120,000 signature petition to parliament, forcing a House of Commons debate on the subject in May 2023. But the government ruled that no changes should be made to the current legislation.
Undeterred, Bob, of West Bridgford, Nottingham, himself a retired University of Nottingham geography lecturer, says he and the other parents will continue their fight.
He adds: “Universities owe a duty of care to their students.”
A talented student, Natasha’s severe anxiety didn’t present at home, so while her mum Maggie 62, a retired psychological well-being practitioner, says they knew she had been a shy child, she says: “Social anxiety is situation dependent, so when she was at home, we just didn’t see those symptoms.”
But her anxiety had become crippling, making her unable to speak in front of strangers or in public, for fear of being judged – something which worsened when she moved from halls into a shared flat in her second year of university.
Remembering her being “happy at uni,” Maggie adds: “She told us she’d been to discos and joined a baking society.”
Bob adds: “We thought she was coping. We’ll never know why she didn’t tell us.
“If we’d known, we would have done anything to stop her from going back to university.”
An inquest into Natasha’s death heard that she had struggled to cope with one-on-one interviews with a tutor following lab work – running out of one, which caused her grades to suffer.
But it was the thought of performing the presentation in front of her peers, which would contribute to her final grade, that led her to email the university, informing them she had attempted suicide.
In the email to university staff, she wrote “I wanted to tell you that the past few days have been really hard, I’ve been having suicidal thoughts and to a certain degree attempted it. I want help to go to the student health clinic or wherever you think is a good place to go to help me through this, and I would like someone to go with me as I will find it very hard to talk to people about these issues.”
Referred to a GP through the university in February 2018, her parents learned at her inquest that the doctor had strongly suspected Natasha was suffering with severe social anxiety, and had immediately referred her to the crisis team.
When she died, she was still waiting to be assessed, but was still required to complete the presentation.
Recalling how Bob answered the door to a police officer, who told him Natasha had taken her own life, Maggie says: “It was the worst moment of our lives.
“Then to discover that her death could have been prevented was unthinkable.
“If the university has been told that a student is suicidal, what should their responsibility be?”
Bob adds: “I worked in a university, I know how easy it would have been for them to make accommodations for Natasha.
“I’ve had students who’ve struggled with speaking in public, and I’ve always found a way around it for them. Why couldn’t someone have done that for Natasha?”
But, resolved to do all they can to prevent further student suicides, he adds: “We’ve got a chance to try and change things in the future for other students.”
A spokesperson for the University of Bristol said: “We care deeply about all our students and staff which is why the mental health and wellbeing of our community is at the heart of decision making across the University. This includes the provision of appropriate, accessible services and interventions. We continue to develop and improve our services to support those who need help.”
Oscar Carrick
When film degree student Oskar Carrick took his own life in the halls of residence at Sheffield Hallam University in May 2021, his parents had no idea he’d been feeling suicidal.
His mum Maxine Carrick, 55, a secondary school teacher, says: “Oskar’s suicide came completely out of the blue.
“It was a huge shock, as we had no idea that he had been feeling suicidal.
“We wanted answers from the university about what happened, but we didn’t know where to start.
“I realised there were lots of other families out there like us and I reached out to Bob and Maggie. They were absolutely wonderful. Their support has been invaluable.”
Oskar started a degree in September 2020, just 18 months after suffering a brain injury in a minor car accident, which left him with insomnia and occasional memory loss.
Because of this, he declared his disability on a form, ticking a box consenting for the university to contact his family in the case of an emergency.
Within six months of starting his course, Oskar’s symptoms intensified, leading to self harm and a suicide attempt in April 2021.
Assessed immediately after the incident at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital by two mental health co-ordinators, he was deemed low-risk and sent back to halls two hours later, according to his inquest, held at the Medico-Legal Centre in Sheffield in November 2022.
The inquest, that recorded a suicide verdict, also heard from the Group Director for Student Academic Services at the University, who said that “no risk factors were met that meant disclosing anything to family.”
Maxine, 55, who lives in Kendal, Lancashire, with her partner Gary Potts, 51, only discovered what had been going on after Oskar – the middle of five children – took his own life. Oskar is the middle of five children.
She says: “It makes me so angry. If I’d had an inkling of what was going on, I would have got straight in the car and collected Oskar and brought him home.
“I just couldn’t believe that it was acceptable for the university not to have reached out and told us what was happening.
“This needs to change.
“I hope that as part of ForThe100, we can keep talking about the issue and force universities to take action.”
A spokesperson for Sheffield Hallam University said: “The University community was deeply saddened by the loss of Oskar. We take supporting our students’ mental health and wellbeing extremely seriously. In recent years we have significantly increased resources to provide access to a wide range of support services and every student has access to dedicated advisors.
“We are in contact with Oskar’s family to share our learning from this tragic case and are committed to engaging with ongoing sector-wide discussions around consent.”
For information about the campaign, click here
