Grieving couple whose 20-year-old daughter killed herself at Bristol University have called for new ‘duty of care’ measures after staff ignored their email plea for help

The heartbroken parents of a ‘hard-working and successful’ student who took his own life are calling for the duty of care for students to be made a legal obligation for universities.

Natasha Abrahart was studying physics at the University of Bristol when she was found dead at home in April 2018.

The 20-year-old had previously attempted suicide during the winter term, and university staff were aware he was struggling.

He emailed a university employee in February 2018, saying: ‘I have had suicidal thoughts and attempted to do so to some extent.’

The 20-year-old, who suffers from social anxiety disorder, was due to take part in a group presentation in front of staff and students in a class of 329 people.

Before the presentation, known as the lab conference, Natasha had difficulty completing one-on-one interview-based assessments.

Her parents, Robert and Maggie, successfully sued the University of Bristol in 2022 after a judge ruled that the institution had breached its duties under the Equality Act by failing to make “reasonable adjustments” for Natasha because of Natasha’s declining anxiety.

Judge Ralton, sitting at the Civil Justice Center in Bristol, also found that the university engaged in indirect disability discrimination against Natasha and treated her negatively because of the consequences of her disability.

The university was ordered to pay £50,000 in compensation to Natasha’s parents and sought to agree some amount towards her funeral expenses.

In December last year, the university appealed to the High Court, arguing that the judge was wrong to find that he knew or should have known enough about Ms Abrahart’s condition to arrange the assessments.

But a ruling in February rejected the university’s appeal.

The Abraharts, who are part of the ForThe100 campaign – a group offering support to families of students who have died by suicide at university – are now fighting to make the duty of care for students a legal requirement for higher education providers.

According to the group, 100 students commit suicide every year.

The group submitted 120,000 petitions to parliament last year, sparking debate in the House of Commons, but no changes were made to existing legislation.

However, as thousands of students begin their university term, Natasha’s father said he will continue his struggle. Mirror ‘Universities owe a duty of care to their students’.

‘After Natasha died, we were horrified to learn that she was the tenth of eleven students to die at Bristol University in 18 months. “We felt that many of these students were suffering due to indifference and we did not think this was acceptable,” he said.

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 University-wide decision-making. This includes providing appropriate, accessible services and interventions. We continue to develop and improve our services to support those who need help.’