Jac

When Jac told a doctor in a regional hospital he has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the doctor replied ‘What, were you in the military?’

In fact, Jac has PTSD because of his work as a support worker in the disability sector.

‘I was continuously assaulted on the job for years. I had been knocked unconscious, bitten, kicked,’ he said.

Jac’s symptoms include night terrors, anxiety, hypervigilance and chest pain.

Jac is now unemployed and receiving a Disability Support Pension due to the severity of his symptoms. He said he has particular understanding of the disability sector through being both ‘a very caring and dedicated support worker’ and then becoming ‘disabled/impaired’ himself.

Jac believes the problem of violence in disability homes is much more widespread than people realise.

‘Speak to the staff and families but be aware that staff and families are often afraid to speak out,’ he said.

He thinks it is partly due to a ‘mismatching of residents’.

‘I worked in a home where a young, strong verbal man with autism would frequently intimidate and assault his housemates who were significantly older, non-verbal or mostly non-verbal and unable to advocate for themselves … I don’t know if I will ever recover from the grief and guilt associated with not being able to protect those vulnerable men from the far greater threat of the younger, stronger resident.’

He would like to see more care given to how people are grouped together, to reduce episodes of violence between them.

‘Vulnerable non-verbal people should not be in a situation where they can be assaulted and unable to advocate for themselves. I also believe that countless people with disabilities are suffering with untreated trauma from the violence they have suffered.’

As he has experienced, violence in residential homes is an issue for staff as well as for people who live there, and managers often respond poorly.

‘When I was frequently assaulted at work, our managers offered my colleagues and I effectively no showing of empathy or concern, they simply directed us to Workcover options … They never said “You should be safe from violence at work,”’ Jac said.

‘We were made to feel like getting bashed was sometimes just part of the job. The thing is, being assaulted by a disabled or mentally ill person is still a human being assaulting you, violently. And violence is traumatic … I saw so many employees shaking in fear at work.’

He believes that many employees have PTSD and don’t even know it, or don’t want to know it.

‘They’re often afraid of losing their jobs,’ he said.

‘I think we need to better support and train staff dealing in occupational violence. They are not allowed to defend themselves, only run and hide. They should be given specialist training to cope with the potential traumatic effects of occupational violence.’