Diana
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.
‘Imagine you are accused of a crime – perhaps a crime you did not commit, or maybe even a crime you were the victim of. The arresting officers use a different language; you’re unable to communicate what happened before you get brought to custody, lockup or jail. There is no way for you to contact your family or an attorney. Your legal rights are not accessible to you, how would you feel?’
Diana, who is Deaf, told the Royal Commission that she found herself in exactly this situation.
It happened about two years ago. She was in her car with a friend, returning from their lunchbreak to a facility where they were doing some training.
Randomly, Diana says, they were pulled over by police to a location where there were about a dozen officers and a K9 unit. The officers told Diana and her friend that they had been pulled over on suspicion of carrying drugs with intention to sell.
When the police asked Diana’s consent to search her car with the police dog, she said she wanted to talk with her lawyer first because she did not understand why she had been targeted.
While on the phone to her lawyer, the batteries in Diana’s cochlear implant went flat. She showed the officers the flashing orange light that indicates a failing battery and explained that she needed another rechargeable battery – in her bag in the classroom – in order to talk with her lawyer or the officers further. The officers, however, accused Diana of lying about being deaf.
Diana’s friend overheard the officers teasing her behind her back about her ‘made up disability’. They thought Diana’s lawyer had told her to pretend to be deaf so she didn’t have to answer questions. Diana’s friend told them several times that Diana was ‘110% deaf’ to no avail.
Diana’s friend described the scene.
‘I noticed that she was confused, embarrassed, upset and didn't know what was going on, she was desperate to get her batteries out of the classroom and wanted them to go get it so she could hold the conversation properly with the police officers but they wouldn't listen to her.’
Diana and her friend were then handcuffed and taken to the police station. Diana was fingerprinted, strip searched, photographed and had DNA taken all while she was ‘in deaf mode’.
‘I had no idea what was going on, and had a massive panic attack. The police kept questioning, talking to me and trying to force me to read their lips but I am Deaf and I don't communicate without my working cochlear implant! … this was unprofessional misconduct, discrimination and unlawful treatment against me, to be forced to somehow verbally “communicate effectively” with them without my hearing means.’
Diana said it took ‘several requests and arguments’ to get officers to write down their questions or answers. She wanted to talk with her lawyer again, but the police had seized her phone so the only way she could get her lawyer’s contact details would have been to give the officers the passcode to her phone – and she did not trust them with that.
Furthermore, the police would not provide a video phone to allow communication with her lawyer, and at no point did anyone offer Diana interpreting services.
‘The legal process can be overwhelming but for deaf people like me … it was confusing, dehumanizing, isolating, humiliating and treacherous,’ Diana said.
‘Aside from the shame and humiliation associated with searches, disproportionate stop and search practices can also cause people with a disability to feel a diminished sense of belonging, fear, insecurity, disempowerment, anxiety, intimidation, helplessness …
‘From scary, misunderstanding and dangerous arrests, to lack of access to re-entry services, our justice system fails deaf Australians every step of the way.’
Diana hopes that all those involved in the administration of justice will be given appropriate training to ensure effective access to justice for people with disability.
She would also like to see a diversity of people working in the justice system at every level – ‘You know, deaf police, deaf judges, deaf attorneys, deaf prison officers.’
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.