Spice Girl Mel B to receive honorary doctorate from Leeds Beckett University

Spice Girl Mel B, is set to be awarded an honorary doctorate from Leeds Beckett University.

Melanie Brown, also known as Spice Girl Mel B, is set to receive an honorary doctorate for her advocacy work, following her completion of an "intense" trauma care course.

The singer, known as Mel B and Scary Spice, is to receive the award from Leeds Beckett University for her advocacy work supporting domestic abuse victims.

The 49-year-old expressed she was "so honoured" and "proud" to have completed the course and to be receiving a doctorate.

 

 

 

 

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In an Instagram post, she described the course as "intense" and "really tough" since it required her to relive some of her past traumas.

She mentioned she undertook the course to "be able to do more" for domestic violence survivors she works with through Women's Aid.

"I want to help many, many more women along with Women's Aid so we can support survivors and end domestic abuse together," she said.

Brown has advocated for domestic abuse victims since her 2018 memoir, Brutally Honest, in which she claimed to have suffered abuse from her ex-husband, Stephen Belafonte. He has denied these allegations.

In a separate statement, Mel B said: "I didn't just want to accept an award.

"I wanted to be accepted as a student at Leeds Beckett."

She continued: "Not only have I been awarded this degree, but I was also accepted as a student on the Trauma Informed Care course which has been a huge step for me in so many ways.

"I am proud to feel part of this university in my hometown, proud to have come here as Melanie Brown, proud to have worked alongside other students and received excellent guidance from the teaching staff."

Professor Peter Slee, Leeds Beckett University vice-chancellor, stated: "On behalf of all our students, colleagues and governors here at Leeds Beckett University, I would like to congratulate Melanie Brown MBE on this Honorary Degree.

"As a child of this city who reached the top of her industry and then used her platform to advocate for those who shared her hardships, Melanie is exactly the type of citizen we are here to champion."

In 2022, Brown received an MBE for her services to charitable causes and vulnerable women. She became a patron of Women's Aid, the national charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse against women and children, in 2018.

She is set to receive her honorary doctorate during Leeds Beckett's graduation week this month.
 

 

 

 

 

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