Jessie
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.
Jessie was a teenager when she went to live in a residential facility in the mid-80s. She told the Royal Commission she experienced abuse and witnessed the abuse of other children by staff at the home.
Jessie was a ‘live-in’ patient from Monday to Friday, receiving physiotherapy for her disability. During this time she became ill and was immobilised. A doctor diagnosed Jessie with pleurisy. She does not remember being given any treatment. ‘I was left alone in a bed of a shared dorm 24/7.’ She says her parents were not notified. ‘When picking me up about a week later I was in a very sick state.’
During her 12-month stay at the facility, Jessie saw children punished for swearing or having a messy room. Staff would park electric wheelchair users so they were facing a wall, and then remove the batteries.
‘[The children] sat like that for what seemed like hours & if anyone tried to help them or even go and talk to them we would get in trouble too.’
Jessie says she and the other residents were constantly verbally abused, particularly by male staff. ‘One nurse regularly told me I had thunder thighs.’
Jessie and other residents reported the incidents but ‘nothing was ever done and complaints were not taken further in those days’.
She says accessibility has come a long way. ‘I think as a nation Australia has done a great job.’
But, she says, discrimination against people with disability remains. ‘A lot more could be said for some people's attitudes and opinions which unfortunately we can not change!’
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.