Aviva
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.
Aviva, early 20s, is Deaf.
Not long ago, she went to her local public hospital to give birth.
‘I was scared. I was a first-time mum.’
Aviva told staff she needed an interpreter so she could understand what was going on. Staff said they didn’t know how to book an interpreter.
‘When hearing people don't understand how important interpreters are to help us communicate with everyone, it's just frustrating,’ Aviva said.
Aviva spent most of her labour without an interpreter.
‘I didn't get access the way I should have when I was in labour,’ she told the Royal Commission.
Soon after delivery, someone contacted child protection, questioning Aviva’s ability to look after her child.
Child protection officers came to the hospital and removed the baby from Aviva.
‘They said it was because I couldn't hear my baby, and so I couldn't possibly look after him. I said, "I've got a flashing light that flashes when the baby alarm goes off. The light flashes. So I will know when my baby cries because I don't need to hear him.”’
Aviva had to prove to child protection she could look after her baby.
After two months, they admitted the report was false and returned the baby.
Three months later, child protection removed the baby again without any warning.
Aviva asked the officers for an interpreter but they told her to use her NDIS funding and get an interpreter herself.
She told them that’s not how the NDIS works. She needs to book interpreters in advance.
Officers pressured Aviva to sign paperwork.
‘I didn't have an interpreter there, so I didn't understand what they were getting me to sign,’ she said.
‘Later, I realised that it was official paperwork, but I didn't understand what any of it meant until much later.’
Child protection allowed Aviva to see her son once a week but never booked an interpreter.
‘I felt like I was being threatened and discriminated against, and that I just had to continue putting up with it because I wanted contact with my son.’
Legal Aid helped Aviva find an interpreting service and a support worker. They also helped her go to court to get her baby back.
‘I told the judge how I was feeling and how people were threatening me because I was Deaf. And how people were discriminating against me because I was Deaf. How people were refusing to book an interpreter. So the judge realised, and gave me my son back.’
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.