Honorary DegreesFiona Drouet
Meet Fiona
Fiona Drouet is the founder and CEO of the charity, EmilyTest. At 18 years old, Fiona's daughter Emily took her own life after being subjected to a relentless campaign of abuse by a fellow university student. In response, Fiona founded EmilyTest to tackle gender-based violence in education.
EmilyTest
Fiona's work in tackling gender-based violence is helping to transform the social and cultural life of Scotland. Following the tragic death of her daughter, Fiona determined that no other student should be in Emily’s shoes.
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Emily’s death was preventable, and there were numerous opportunities for the university involved to discern warning signs, respond appropriately to requests for support and take action which could have saved her life. EmilyTest has successfully campaigned to raise awareness of gender-based violence and stimulated policy change, professional practice, intervention and support in Scottish education.
Guiding industry
Working closely with the Scottish Government, universities, colleges, Police Scotland, UCU and the third sector, Fiona has guided the industry towards safer campuses for all students to live, work and study.
In 2018, Fiona worked with Universities Scotland to develop and distribute 100,000 information cards to staff in colleges and universities across Scotland. These offered basic information needed to quickly refer someone experiencing any form of gender-based violence (GBV) to specialist services. The scheme was supported by the Deputy First Minister and NUS Scotland. It has since evolved to include stickers placed around campuses to provide students with sources of support if experiencing GBV or suicidal thoughts.
At Strathclyde, these stickers are on the inside door of every toilet cubicle (over 1000) and the inside of every wardrobe door in bedrooms within the Student Village.
GBV Charter
After identifying various missed opportunities for the university to save her daughter, EmilyTest created the world’s first GBV Charter for colleges and universities. The Charter is an award that allows educational institutions to take the ‘Emily Test’, which involves meeting minimum standards where Emily’s life could have been saved.
EmilyTest supports institutions through one-to-one coaching, providing dedicated staff support, resources, and opportunities to share good practice with the sector. Institutions then ‘Take the Test’ by presenting evidence of their work to an independent panel of experts. The Charter was created after extensive research and co-creation with hundreds of students, graduates, further education and higher education staff, Violence Against Women and Girls professionals and working with groups such as ethnic minority women, disabled students, and LGBTQIA* youth.
Two colleges and three universities have been awarded the Charter in Scotland, and pilots have now launched in England.
Watch
Watch Fiona receive her Honorary Degree, and hear what she had to say to our students at their graduation ceremony.
The most powerful thing you can carry with you, more valuable than any qualification, is kindness. Always think of what you want your legacy to be. Emily's is one of kindness. She was caring, thoughtful, full of fun. Qualities that are often underestimated in today's world, but they're exactly what this world needs more of.
We caught up with Fiona to see how she feels about her Honorary Degree.
How do you feel about receiving your Honorary Degree from the University of Strathclyde today?
Receiving this honorary degree from the University of Strathclyde is deeply meaningful to me. The University believed in EmilyTest from the very beginning and was one of the first in Scotland to pilot and achieve our Gender Based Violence Charter. That early support helped us to grow into the organisation we are today, driving real change across the UK and beyond.
This recognition honours not just my work, but Emily's legacy, which is one of kindness and helping others. It's with immense gratitude that I accept it, on behalf of my family, our charity, and most of all, for our darling girl, Emily.
What advice do you have for our graduates?
My advice to graduates is simple: always lead with kindness.
Your degree will open many doors, but the way you treat others will shape your true legacy. As the saying goes, “people will forget what you said, they’ll forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Whether it’s a kind word, a smile, or simply listening, those small moments can truly transform someone’s life. So wherever life takes you, whatever you do, do it with love and kindness always.
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