Mel B Awarded Honorary Doctorate For Advocacy Against Domestic Abuse

Mel B is to be awarded an honorary doctorate for her advocacy and charity work surrounding domestic abuse survivors.

Leeds Beckett University is set to honour the Spice Girls singer with her doctorate at a ceremony set to take place next month.

Melanie Brown, also known as Scary Spice, has been an advocate for domestic abuse survivors after opening up in her memoir ‘Brutally Honest’ about the abuse she experienced in her relationship with ex-husband Stephen Belafonte. He has repeatedly denied the allegations Brown has made.

The singer became a patron for domestic violence charity Women's Aid in 2018 and later, in 2022, received an MBE for ‘services to charitable causes and vulnerable women’.

In a post to Instagram, the 49-year-old revealed she had completed a course in trauma care at the university. Brown called the experience “so so intense”, noting how she had to relive a lot of trauma in order to complete the course. 

“I am sooooo honoured and proud I did itttt'' the music icon writes.

In a statement regarding the universities decision to award her with a doctorate, Mel B called it  "an incredible honour," - admitting that she “didn’t just want to accept an award” but also wanted to be a student at Leeds Beckett. 

"I’ve told friends and family I’d love to go to uni, but I don’t think people took it seriously”

“Since leaving my marriage I’ve told friends and family I’d love to go to uni, but I don’t think people took it seriously,” she stated. “But this gave me an opportunity to actually do it.”

"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."

"Melanie is exactly the type of citizen we are here to champion"

Leeds Beckett Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Slee expressed his congratulations to Brown saying "As a child of this city who reached the top of her industry, then used her platform to advocate for those who shared her hardships, Melanie is exactly the type of citizen we are here to champion."