Allyson, Sky, and Gwendolyn
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.
Allyson, Sky and Gwendolyn told the Royal Commission about the discrimination they’ve experienced. They made their submission together in a video conference.
Sky has an intellectual disability. She used to work in a disability workshop where she and other workers earned $6 a day and were ‘treated like animals’.
At Christmas, the workers with disability were given ‘cheap Christmas stockings with chocolates’ while staff ‘got better things’. ‘They did not make us feel equal,’ Sky said.
Sky left the workshop and now works for a disability advocate.
‘This job is good because I am paid and treated equally.’
Allyson also worked in a disability workshop, as well as a biscuit factory. She enjoyed those jobs.
Allyson said that when she later worked at a government agency, she was ‘treated like a second class citizen, harassed and bullied by staff’. She said the union and her family tried to help, but the bullying shattered her confidence and she stopped working.
Allyson said the government agency provides support services for people with disability, and she is afraid to return to the agency to access those services because the people who bullied her still work there.
Gwendolyn lives with post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by her experiences as a child.
She used to be a piano teacher, but nerve damage from an arm injury prevents her from teaching piano. She is studying to be a yoga teacher.
Gwendolyn is supported by the NDIS, but the funding does not cover her needs. When she tried to access cheaper services, they weren’t appropriate.
Gwendolyn lives independently and, because she has difficulty speaking, struggles to deal with support services.
She said people ‘take over’ when she asks for help, and do things she doesn’t want them to.
Her support coordinator, for example, arranged for a gardener to do work she didn’t need. He damaged her trees and charged her $3000.
‘This made me feel ashamed,’ she told the Royal Commission.
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.