Clark and Laura
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.
Laura wrote to the Royal Commission about the vulnerability of people with disability who are not able to advocate for themselves. ‘We, as a family, experienced this for the first time when my son Clark was still at school,’ she said.
Clark is autistic. He experiences extremely high levels of anxiety and was given an additional diagnosis of social anxiety disorder during adolescence.
Laura told us about an incident 10 years ago when Clark was in year 8. He had been attending a local high school in a regional area for less than a year, enrolled as a student with special educational needs.
A couple of weeks before the end of term, Laura received a phone call at work to say an extremely serious incident had occurred at school involving Clark. She was to come and pick him up immediately from the school as he was not to be on campus at all.
Laura arrived at the school to find Clark in a very distressed state. The deputy principal said that a female student had accused Clark of grabbing her on the breasts. As this was an extremely serious matter he was not welcome back until the matter had been investigated thoroughly.
Laura tried to find out details but the school wouldn’t provide any. They said they would keep her up-to-date with what was happening, and if the matter was considered serious enough it would be reported to the police.
Laura took Clark home. For two weeks she rang the school every day to find out what was happening. Every day she was told the deputy principal was busy and would return her call later. But he never did.
When Laura would try to talk with Clark about what had happened, he would become extremely distressed and start self‐harming. But he did keep saying, ‘I don't think I did it. I don't remember doing anything.’
On the last day of term, still having heard nothing from the school, Laura rang and made an appointment with the principal for the first morning back after the school holidays.
At this meeting, Laura told the principal she still had no information about the incident or the consequences for Clark, or even whether he was allowed to return to school. It was only then that the principal told Laura it had all been ‘an unfortunate mistake’.
The allegation made against Clark was a lie. He had started talking to the young girl after school while waiting to be picked up. She didn't want Clark to talk to her and thought if she said he touched her, he would be made to stay away from her.
Laura asked what the consequences were for this young girl for making such a serious false allegation. The principal replied there wouldn’t be any as it had just been ‘a mistake’.
‘It would not have been a “mistake” for my son if he had been falsely charged with sexual assault,’ Laura responded.
‘I feel that this is just one example of a young person with a disability being at significant risk because of their inability to advocate for themselves and handle difficult situations. [Clark], like many people with ASD, will avoid confrontation at all costs and “loses” his ability to verbalise and “think clearly” when he is put into stressful or confrontational situations. He was not able to say with any clarity “I didn't do it” and he could not tell anyone what had actually happened. We were fortunate in this situation that the young girl decided to tell the truth about what had happened. It does not however, protect my son or anyone else from being victimised in this way in the future.’
Laura has never forgotten the feelings of anger, frustration and hopelessness she felt about her son being treated this way.
‘I never officially reported this incident to any school governing body. At the time the incident occurred I was faced with the overwhelming task of dealing with my son's distress, my own distress, finding him a new school and maintaining my employment … There needs to be easier access to advocates … Having access to someone who could have helped with this at the time would have resulted in me making a report, and may have resulted in the school developing a greater understanding as to how to support students with disabilities and their families in a more appropriate way.’
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.