Alondra
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.
Alondra is in her 40s and lives with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
‘I developed PTSD, I believe, at around 12,’ Alondra told the Royal Commission. ‘My mother and father split, and basically they had an argumentative relationship, from what I can remember. I was only six when they separated, but my mother went on to become an alcoholic.’
Alondra said she ran away from home when she was a teenager.
‘I didn’t understand what was going on with me. I formed a very dysfunctional relationship with someone that I wouldn’t even have been friends with, to be honest, at the age of 14, and so by 16 I had my first child.’
While she was in an abusive relationship, the family services department took her children away and placed them with her mother. Alondra said the department gave her little support.
‘I was so confused and abused and hurt, and I had no idea.’
Alondra said department officers blamed her for her circumstances.
‘The psychologist said, “Alondra does very well to convince professionals that she is committed to change,” and, like, to me that looked like they were taking a swipe at my intelligence, because I’m not stupid, but it doesn’t mean that I’m immune to the effects of abuse.’
Alondra said her PTSD should have been obvious to the department, but it remained undiagnosed. The loss of her children made things worse.
‘Re-victimising a victim – I think it is one of the cruellest things you could possibly do.’
Alondra said the department gave her few tools to help herself.
‘When you’re not given the education and the resources to understand, you’re not just going to snap out of trauma, and it is just, like, disabling.’
Now living with chronic PTSD, Alondra is an advocate for families of people, including her son, who are in jail.
‘We need to start focusing on the solutions.’
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.