Lilian and Gwen
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.
Lilian is a First Nations woman in prison for domestic violence. She said her partner tried to strangle her.
‘He was going to kill me, he was playing a game of cat and mouse with me all night. The only reason I did something was because I wanted to [live] to see my children.’
Lilian is helping a fellow prisoner, Gwen, who doesn’t know why she’s in prison. Gwen is in her 30s and doesn’t speak. Lilian thinks she may have undiagnosed psychosocial disabilities.
‘No-one cares that she’s in this place. She’s in the wrong place,’ Lilian told the Royal Commission.
Lilian advocates for Gwen. Because Gwen can’t talk, Lilian went with her to a court hearing to interpret for her.
‘They couldn’t even say her name … she couldn’t talk to them.’
Lilian said that Gwen gets angry because she can’t communicate. When she gets angry, prison staff put her in a detention unit cell with ‘the lights on constantly and people screaming all day’.
‘So they’ve punished her for something on the outside she doesn’t understand and is then punished in here for doing something she doesn’t understand.’
Lilian said prison is making Gwen’s disabilities worse.
‘She’ll go home worse … We don’t have any support in here. There’s a psychiatrist who comes down, but they only come in when we’ve fucked up already, six months down the track.’
Because of a previous incident, Gwen is now kept in the detention unit. She is getting more depressed.
‘This person comes from a remote community where they’re free, they can go fishing and hunting and they come here and there are walls ... Everyone is screaming, they’re angry violent people in there and she’s there listening to it.’
Lilian advocates for a number of women in prison, including her aunt, who has diabetes. She monitors what her aunt eats and makes sure she takes insulin, so she doesn’t fall into a coma.
‘On the outside, ambos would come, sirens on, lights on for a diabetic, but in here there’s nothing.’
Lilian said without help, prison makes things worse for already vulnerable women.
‘Language, lack of education and knowledge, is making everyone disabled.’
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.