Whitley
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.
Whitley, a First Nations woman in her 60s, has borderline personality disorder. She also has osteoarthritis and uses a wheelchair or scooter for mobility.
Whitley told the Royal Commission she was raised in an orphanage and foster care, so making her ‘home life a safe one’ has been her ‘whole intent’.
However, Whitley said physical abuse by police and unjust treatment from housing authorities has led to her being evicted from government housing and becoming homeless several times in the past few years.
Whitley first moved into public housing in the early 2000s.
In the first house, she said police physically abused her after she had problems with a neighbour. ‘[My] right wrist had been fractured from being slammed and manhandled.’
Whitley said there were lots of ‘police callouts’ over the years.
Once she was walking to her weekly psychiatric appointment when police pulled up.
‘They suspected I was carrying drugs in my anus, and they pulled my shorts and my underwear down on the public main street.’
‘There was me slammed on the concrete … with a physical disability that has gotten worse.’
The housing department evicted Whitley. ‘Then they placed me into another disability unit.’
There were ice dealers living in the area. Whitely made calls to the police, but they repeatedly ignored her. ‘I thought I was doing something – you know, to keep the community safe.’
It got to the point where Whitely ‘had had enough’. ‘So, I picked up my percussion instrument and knowing that they were going to do a runner, I assaulted the dealer, struck him once.’
Police detained Whitley. ‘They were all laughing at the instrument,’ Whitely said, ‘having a joke.’
Soon after, she was told to ‘get out’ of the unit.
Following this eviction, Whitely moved through a string of support accommodation facilities. One of these had ‘third world conditions’.
‘It was horrible,’ she said. ‘I resided there … with alcoholics, criminals. I was assaulted on day four, three times by the same mentally unwell man.’
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Whitely was placed in an Indigenous aged care facility. ‘That was frightening. It's a prison.’
One night, a support worker accused her of threatening violence on a resident, and called the police. ‘I had to go away to be mentally assessed.’
Management gave her 48 hours to ‘get out’. Whitely became homeless again.
Today Whitley is in stable accommodation, but she is having problems with a tenant who is sexually harassing her.
‘Because I was sexually abused in the orphanages … it's like living with a paedophile above me.’
She says the housing department refuses to take her calls, and feels they have ‘failed her’.
Whitley describes herself as ‘a person that keeps getting knocked down and getting back up again’.
‘It’s been a pretty intense journey,’ she said. ‘[But] I have now finally unpacked and have a home.’
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.