Elsie and Celeste
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.
Elsie has an intellectual disability. She left school a few years ago, but still experiences trauma from what happened to her there. Her mother, Celeste, told the Royal Commission Elsie’s story.
It happened on an educational support transport bus when Elsie was 13 years old. A 16-year-old boy, who also has a disability, digitally raped her.
The next day Elsie told the school she had been raped. The boy admitted what he had done, yet the principal told Elsie she had to stop saying she’d been raped, and sent a letter of suspension home to Celeste.
Following that, the principal isolated Elsie from the rest of the school for a whole term, despite a psychologist from a disability service provider advising against this.
Both the psychologist and Elsie’s NDIS local area coordinator lodged internal complaints. Still, Elsie was not allowed to sit with the other students during breaks for a whole term – she was made to sit with the educational assistant instead. Meanwhile, the boy was allowed to spend his breaks playing basketball with his mates.
‘I feel this sent a message to my daughter and the other girls (all with disability) that if you report a sexual assault you will be punished,’ Celeste said.
On advice from Elsie’s local area coordinator, Celeste reported the incident to the relevant government department. However the department said that because the incident happened in the community they could do nothing, and handed it to police.
The police response was that because both children had a disability it was too hard for them to establish a crime, so they would not investigate.
The school did not offer Elsie any counselling, but sent her for more protective behaviour training. ‘I would like the disability sector to stop thinking protective behaviour training is the answer every time a kid with disability gets hurt,’ Celeste said.
Now, years later, Elsie is still deeply impacted by these events.
‘My daughter will now let only me and 1 support worker touch her or enter her bedroom. This is making it difficult for her to access the support she needs. She now has suicidal ideation and [self-harms].’
Celeste thinks police should have more training around disability, and she would ‘like crisis services to treat people with disability with the same care and respect they offer to other citizens’.
‘Stop shoving people with disability into the back room of society,’ she said.
‘I feel so many systems let her down here. I feel if she didn't have a disability she would not have been treated this way. I feel very sad for her and feel I let her down.’
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.