Bevan
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.
Bevan is in his late 50s and has a genetic disorder that affects his bones.
Bevan told the Royal Commission he was sexually abused as a child in primary school. He has post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, ‘obviously driven’ by that experience, he said. He is seeking compensation, but the process is drawn out and complicated and Bevan believes the government is trying to avoid responsibility.
‘They’re trying to make out that, at best, I don’t suffer from complex post-traumatic stress disorder,’ he said. ‘They’re seeking to kind of strategise for later on when there might be liability that, you know … “He’s got a personality disorder or he’s got some other, you know, mental health designation.”’
Bevan says he’s seen that happen before.
‘Means you can get expert witnesses with different testimony and different judgment on what a person is and is not.’
Bevan’s school years and early 20s were troubled. ‘I was certainly treading a thin line, and there was also a lot of at-risk behaviour,’ he said.
‘So, you know, this is where the trauma is still kind of affecting me as a person, because it’s now unresolved trauma, and it’s kind of gone into the unconscious.’
Luckily he had the support of good friends. With their help, he ‘was able to kind of straighten out [his] life.’
Bevan trained as a teacher and worked in regional schools for several decades in different roles. He observed over the years that very often students who should have been identified as having as a disability were instead labelled ‘bad’. Trauma wasn’t recognised either.
‘Some of the elements of antisocialness and criminality and so forth, these are just behaviours that are, you know, are brought on by trauma.’
He believes that placing kids with disability in mainstream schools is better in theory than in practice.
‘Getting kids mixing with, you know, integrating with other kids – fantastic idea and it has lots and lots of benefits. But, you know, the difficulty remains on the quantity ... So if one teacher is loaded up with several complex kids, you know, that is very difficult. And if they’ve got emotional regulational difficulties and those sorts of things, that’s a very difficult situation to be in.’
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.