Universities do not have a statutory duty of care towards students, and a group of committed parents are intent on changing that.
#ForThe100 is a campaign based around forcing a parliamentary debate on whether a liability should be in place to encourage a better standard of care for students at University. The campaign is named for the 100 students who estimated to lose their lives to suicide each year.
The threshold for an official response to a petition is 10,000 signatures. 100,000 is required for a debate in parliament. #ForThe100 currently stands at over 30,000 signatures and have a deadline of 19 March to be debated in parliament.
The response from government upon hitting 10,000 signatures earlier this year was that a general duty of care already exists but this is not enough for the campaigners.
Last weekend #ForThe100 held three vigils in London, Edinburgh and Bristol to raise the profile of the petition.
One of the many stories speaking to the failure of University support is Oskar Carrick, a student at Sheffield Hallam who took his own life in 2021 aged 21. His mother, Maxine Carrick, said: “We all adamantly believe our children would still be alive if there was a legal duty of care.”
Another testimonial are Robert and Margaret Abrahart who lost their daughter, Natasha Abrahart, to suicide in 2018. They’re a part of The Learn Network, a community for bereaved families and preventing future deaths, who are supporting #ForThe100.
Mr Abrahart, 66, a retired University lecturer, said that: “Duty of care is essentially, you shouldn’t be allowed to harm people either by things you do or things you fail to do.
“It kinda boils down to thinking about the student, and thinking about the impact on that student and their mental health, at every part, at every stage of the student journey. That’s where we’re coming from. They key is to care about the impact of your decisions on the students.”
He explained that ‘people misunderstand’ what is meant by a statutory duty of care. Ms Carrick said: “We’re not asking for medical care, we’re not asking for Universities to be mental health workers.”
The meaning of duty of care here is a commitment from Universities to keeping releavant contacts, like friends or family, informed when necessary.
There is an ambiguity surrounding the provisions for University staff and their responsibility with student pastoral currently. This is highlighted by a Student Minds study in 2018 Mr Abrahart references.
A proposal from Mr Abrahart is to bring the standard for students in line with University staff, where a statutory duty of care does exist.
Mrs Abrahart said: “What we find really frustrating is the argument that they’re adults. But any adult doesn’t make 100% best decisions all of their life. There are times when you need a bit of help or a bit of assistance no matter what age you are.”
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts and need any support the Samaritans can be contacted for free on 116 123, emailed at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.