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Discrimination by the University of Bristol led to the suicide of a vulnerable student

The University of Bristol has been ordered to pay £50k in damages


Disability discrimination by the University of Bristol led to the suicide of vulnerable student Natasha Abrahart, a court has found.

The University of Bristol has been ordered to pay £50,518 in damages to reflect the injury to Natasha’s feelings, the deterioration of her mental health, as well as her funeral costs. The university is considering appealing the decision.

Natasha was one of ten students at the University of Bristol known to have taken their own life during a two year period between 2016 and 2018.

On hearing today’s judgement, Natasha’s mother, Margaret Abrahart said: “We really hope that the University of Bristol will finally take its head out of the sand and recognise that now is the time for change.”

‘I’ve been having suicidal thoughts and to a certain degree attempted it’

In February 2018, Natasha Abrahart was diagnosed with chronic Social Anxiety Disorder. In the same month, an email was sent from Natasha’s account to a university staff member saying: “I’ve been having suicidal thoughts and to a certain degree attempted it.”

Natasha’s body was found two months later, on the day she was due to give a presentation to her fellow physics students at the University of Bristol.

The Abrahart family’s lawyer argued throughout the case that the university failed to make reasonable adjustments to Natasha’s oral assessments in respect of Natasha’s social anxiety.

In his judgement issued at Bristol County Court today, Judge Alex Ralton found the university breached its duties to Natasha, by failing to adjust the way it assessed the student. This constituted indirect disability discrimination, with the breaches ultimately leading to her death.

Ralton said: “It was accepted by the medical experts that the primary stressor and cause of Natasha’s depressive illness was oral assessment.”

The judge ordered the University of Bristol to pay £50k in damages

While the university’s lawyer accepted the oral assessment had contributed to Natasha’s death, they denied they had a responsibility to modify the assessment method as “an ability to explain and justify experimental work orally is a core competency of a professional scientist.”

Judge Ralton rejected this defence, saying: “It is obvious to me that the fundamental purpose of the assessments was to elicit from Natasha answers to questions put to her following the experiments and it is a statement of the obvious that such a process does not automatically require face to face oral interaction and there are other ways of achieving the same.”

The judge found that the university should have changed the way it assessed Natasha either by conducting the presentation in a smaller venue or without her peers in attendance. While the university “floated” ideas for how Natasha’s assessment was conducted, the judge said that “none were implemented.”

Ralton found that Natasha’s suffering was “serious” and “continuous” ordering the university to pay damages of £50,518.

‘The University of Bristol broke the law and exposed our daughter to months of wholly unnecessary psychological trauma’

Natasha Abrahart with her parents Robert and Margaret

Natasha’s father Robert Abrahart said: “Today, 1,481 days after Natasha took her own life on the day of an assessment she simply couldn’t do, after years of protestations from the university that it did all it could to support her, after having battled our way through an inquest and a civil trial, we finally have the truth: The University of Bristol broke the law and exposed our daughter to months of wholly unnecessary psychological trauma, as she watched her grades plummet, and her hopes for the future crumble before her eyes.”

Natasha’s mother called on the uni to apologise for its role in her daughter’s death

 

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Margaret Abrahart with her daughter Natasha

Natasha’s mother, Margaret Abrahart said: “We are ready to work with [the University of Bristol] to help ensure that the failings which led to Natasha’s death aren’t repeated so other families don’t have to suffer as we have suffered.  We hope they will apologise for the role they played in Natasha’s death and will take us up on our offer of help.”

‘As Natasha’s case tragically illustrates, breaching the Equality Act is not only unlawful, it can also be fatal’

Gus Silverman, the lawyer representing the family, said: “This judgment should serve as a wake-up call to all Higher Education institutions.

“They have to ensure that they understand and comply with their duties under the Equality Act. This means not assessing disabled students, including those disabled by mental illnesses, in the same way as students who don’t share their disability if such assessments put those students at a substantial disadvantage, unless there is a very good reason for doing so.

“This isn’t about giving disabled students an unfair advantage over their peers; it’s about levelling the playing field so that everyone has a chance to succeed.  As Natasha’s case tragically illustrates, breaching the Equality Act is not only unlawful, it can also be fatal.”

The University of Bristol is considering appealing the decision

A University of Bristol spokesperson said: “Our whole university community has been deeply affected by Natasha’s tragic death and we would once again like to extend our sympathies to her friends and family.

“We believe staff in the School of Physics worked incredibly hard and diligently to support Natasha during her time with us, and it was due to their efforts that she was receiving specialist mental health support from the NHS.

“Our staff’s efforts also included offering alternative options for Natasha’s assessments to alleviate the anxiety she faced about presenting her laboratory findings to her peers.  We are very grateful to them for their endeavours on Natasha’s behalf and for their unwavering commitment to our students.

“We cannot replicate the NHS but are committed to working with the NHS and other partners to improve services and ensure we are collectively providing the best possible support for students.

“Given the significant impact this decision could have on how all higher education providers support their students, we are reviewing the decision carefully, including whether to appeal. In light of that review, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the judgment at the present time.”

If you or someone you know has been affected by this story, please speak to someone or contact Samaritans on 116 123 at any time. You can contact Anxiety UK on 03444 775 774, Mind on 0300 123 3393, and Calm (Campaign against living miserably, for men aged 15 to 35) on 0800 58 58 58. You matter.

A list of wellbeing services available to Bristol students can be found here.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Natasha Abrahart’s parents launch legal case against Bristol Uni over daughter’s suicide

• Bristol Uni failed to make reasonable adjustments for Natasha Abrahart, court told

• Parents of Natasha Abrahart to sue Bristol University over daughter’s suicide