THE mother of a student who killed herself after being assaulted by her boyfriend believes her daughter would still be alive if new safeguards had been in place.

Fiona Drouet said a newly-published guide for universities and colleges on how to deal with cases of sexual violence would help protect female students and save lives.

Mrs Drouet, from Glasgow, helped devise the guidance, which is based on the principles set out in the #emilytest campaign, founded by the family after daughter Emily took her own life following an abusive relationship with another student at Aberdeen University.

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The Equally Safe in Higher Education Toolkit recommends guidance and training for staff, well-publicised places to report concerns and the creation of a code of conduct with disciplinary procedures and sanctions for perpetrators.

It also recommends setting up secure data collection to record instances of gender-based violence and research to reveal the extent of the problem.

The Scottish Government is providing £396,000 for the roll-out and implementation of the guide, which was developed at Strathclyde University with assistance from organisations including Police Scotland, NUS Scotland and Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis Centre.

Speaking at the launch Mrs Drouet said: “This is a significant turning point with regards to gender-based violence on campus. It is a very important day for all Scottish students.

“This is Emily’s legacy and I hope both staff and students will feel empowered by this resource. Institutions now have the help they need and I believe that had this been in place while our daughter was at university it could have saved her life.

“There are some pockets of excellence and some institutions taking this very seriously, but unfortunately it is patchy and we need to ensure consistency so that every student will get the same level of support.”

Mrs Drouet said data collection was vital to identify the scale of the issue and said she had been shocked to find such information was not readily available.

“One argument we have come up against is institutions saying this would make them look as if they had a problem if some reported higher figures than others, but what we are trying to do is reverse that culture.”

The campaign is also seeking to tackle the wider issue of misogyny and laddish culture in higher education.

Mrs Drouet said: “We want to create an environment where students realise this behaviour is not acceptable on campus and that there will be serious consequences for them.”

Dr Veena O’Halloran, Strathclyde University’s secretary, said universities were well-placed to take a leading role in tackling gender-based violence.

She added: “We are determined that Scotland has an environment where every student has equal access to help and support and where university communities tackle gender-based violence head-on.”

Emily, 18, was found dead in her room in March 2016. Former boyfriend Angus Milligan was later convicted of physically and verbally abusing her and was subsequently expelled from the university.

Mrs Drouet and her husband Germain have been campaigning against gender-based violence since Emily’s death.