Tyra and Bessie
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
‘All psychologists have said that the trauma will rear its ugly head later on when she becomes aware of what’s transpired.’
Tyra is autistic, has dyspraxia and was non-verbal until she was five. Initially, she attended a mainstream primary school.
About five years ago, Tyra came home from school and her mother Bessie noticed a grey discharge in her underpants. Bessie told the Royal Commission she had ‘the presence of mind’ to ‘bag’ the underpants.
Bessie took Tyra to the doctor. The doctor asked whether she ‘had been interfered with’. Bessie was adamant there was ‘no possible way because she’s never out of my sight’.
Over the next week Tyra started displaying sexualised behaviours. She asked Bessie to play with her vagina several times. She showed Bessie what she wanted her to do. Bessie tried to explain to Tyra ‘this is not appropriate and that our private parts are private’.
A few days later Tyra complained her vagina was sore. Bessie asked her if something had happened. Tyra said it was because Eamon touches her. ‘She put her finger in her vagina and she swirled it around,’ Bessie said. Eamon would touch Tyra when they were in the toilets before school.
Bessie went to see the class teacher who told her there was a boy named Eamon in Tyra’s class. She said she had not seen any animosity between them.
The next day the department of family services rang Bessie because someone at the school had reported an incident.
Bessie phoned the principal but he wasn’t in. She spoke to the assistant principal who put her on speaker phone. Bessie found it ‘completely intrusive’ recounting what happened knowing she was on speaker phone. She said he became quite defensive telling her it couldn’t have happened at school because there was a teacher on duty from 9 am. He said a boy near the girls’ toilets would stand out ‘like a rooster in a hen house’.
Bessie said the school’s response was neglectful and distressing. They shut her out and refused to investigate the incident. She believes Tyra’s disability had an impact on how the school reacted.
The department of family services investigated the incident and examined the home and the school environment. But the results of the investigation were inconclusive. ‘I’ve never been able to come to terms with that fact … there was no transparency at all.’ The woman who did the investigation said, ‘It doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It just means they can’t prove it.’ The department suggested Tyra see a psychologist and change schools.
Bessie had to request a copy of the report through Freedom of Information, but it was heavily redacted.
Meanwhile Tyra became increasingly traumatised, absconding and screaming when arriving at school.
At a parent teacher meeting, Tyra’s class teacher disclosed there was animosity between Eamon and Tyra. Eamon often hit Tyra on the leg and ‘was sneaky about it’.
Bessie removed Tyra from the school. She contacted the department of education, which was unresponsive. Later, the department apologised and offered to pay for counselling.
Tyra now attends a community school and is in a support class for students with moderate intellectual disability.
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.