Dominique
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Dominique is in her 50s and has a congenital condition that fused the vertebrae in her neck. ‘My hands are disabled and I have very limited head and shoulder movement,’ Dominique told the Royal Commission.
About 30 years ago, she had surgery to try to save some function in one hand. On the operating table, unknown to her and against her wishes, a surgeon performed an experimental procedure.
‘That operation failed dismally. It took another 40 per cent use of my hands.’
Dominique said she discovered that, because she was ‘legally disabled’ at the time, she couldn’t sue for disability ‘even if they made it worse’.
‘It took seven years, you know, in therapies and exercises and thinking creatively, to finally regain my independence.’
Dominique then applied for a job in the public service that required her to drive.
‘I had obtained the exemption to not wear a seatbelt because when the sash of the seatbelt is pinning me at my shoulder, basically, in a serious accident … I would not survive. Seatbelt or not, it’s not saving me. Whiplash is deadly for me due to the neck deformity.’
One day, a colleague admitted to her that he had assaulted another woman. Dominique reported it to management.
‘That’s when the bullying started.’
Dominique’s employer told her she was no longer able to drive for workplace health and safety reasons. She believed there was no legal justification for their decision, but not being allowed to drive prevented her ‘from meeting the inherent requirements of [her] job’.
‘They were vicious. They were bullies. I mean I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. It was horrendous going through everything they were doing to me … I did end up resigning for my own sanity, and settled. And I have not worked since.’
Dominique said the psychological impact was ‘huge’.
‘Psychology, you know, I never really deemed myself disabled until [the department] did what they did to me. So then, by the end of it, all I could identify myself as was a disabled person.’
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.