A mum of an Edinburgh student who tragically took her own life at 21 is pushing for the UK Government to pass a new law.
Libby Kitson is calling for the Government to create a legal duty of care for university students, after her daughter's tragic death, reports the BBC.
Romy Ulvestad, daughter of Libby, died at her parents' home four days after her 21st birthday, as she lost her battle with her mental health.
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The University of Edinburgh student had been repeatedly asking staff at the university for help with her mental health, but never received sufficient support.
The University of Edinburgh had apologised for failing Romy, and said they had improved the support they offer to students since her death.
And Libby has joined the petition for Westminster to change the law to better protect students, and notes that she hopes the Scottish Government follows suit.
The petition aimed at the UK Government is currently being supported by 25 bereaved families, who have also set up a community support system called The LEARN Network.
The petition reached more than 127,000 signatures before the deadline at midnight on Mother's Day, March 19, which means the subject will be considered for debate in Parliament.
When speaking to BBC Scotland, Libby said she did not know that her daughter was struggling with her mental health as she returned home from studying during the pandemic in 2020.
She said: "Her father and I had no idea about her mental health struggles but they had been well-flagged to people at the University of Edinburgh who could have done something about it.
"I sent Romy to off to university to study classics, which would be a pivotal point for the rest of her life. What I didn't expect to do was send her off to university to die."
Romy was a classics student and part-time model, and died in April 2020 - more than a year after she communicated with the University of Edinburgh to receive support.
Romy requested a "special circumstances" application at the time, to resit her exams without penalty.
Libby said: "We want there to be a legal duty of care within all higher education institutions, and I think some people, including our government, seem to think there is some legal requirement in place but there really isn't.
"You want to know that if your child is suffering with any kind of mental health issues, or is overwhelmed by university life, there are people there who are trained and skilled to help deal with it.
"And if they really, really are in a state of crisis you would want to be informed."
The Department of Education has said creating a legally enforced duty of care "would be a disproportionate response".
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