Hillary, Robson and Coralie
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.
‘The way I was treated wasn’t very nice. I reckon that if I had a chance to be a mum with my two kids I reckon things would have worked out better than they did.’
Coralie is in her 40s and has cognitive disability and dyslexia. Her son Robson lives with anxiety, and her daughter Hillary has cognitive disability.
‘[Their father] used to just domestic violence on me and [Robson],’ Hillary told the Royal Commission. ‘What I really wanted put in place, but I didn’t get, was a chance just to be a mum with two kids and some help, and take the dad away so that we can have a better life. But things didn’t work out that way.’
When Coralie was in hospital giving birth to Hillary, her husband stayed home with Robson.
‘His dad was supposed to look after [Robson]. [Robson] was outside riding around and one of the neighbours … rang [child] protection and said that he looked like he wasn’t getting looked after properly.’
Coralie said she’d rung the police to remove Robson from his father’s care, but ‘the police said they just couldn’t move him because he’s the father’.
Coralie struggled to feed Hillary and stayed in hospital, but had little other support.
‘I was just doing it all on my own.’
She managed to bring Robson into hospital with her. One day child protection officers arrived and ‘took the two kids away’.
‘They reckon that I couldn’t manage looking after two kids.’
Coralie said she felt ‘trapped’.
‘What I really wanted put in place was a chance to be a mum, take dad away and get support … They just wanted me to sign some papers, like, sign my kids over to them.’
Coralie can’t read or write and asked for someone to explain what was going on.
‘I couldn’t understand anything so I wasn’t going to sign anything before I knew what was going on. I wasn’t going to sign my kids away, you know, on orders till they were 18.’
Coralie said her children were eventually removed and placed in foster care. After her violent husband moved out, Coralie’s case workers tried to return her children to her, but child protection ‘wouldn’t agree to it’.
‘They didn’t have a very good life in foster care. They got treated a bit wrong from the foster care people. But yeah, so that made it hard that my kids were supposed to stay with the same carer till they were 18, but they were split up.’
Robson was returned to Coralie when he was a teenager, after he was found living alone in a refuge.
‘[Hillary] can’t come home because it just feels like there’s nothing there for [Robson] and her to be together … That’s hard because I thought she might come home and we’d settle down and be a little family like we wanted to be. But no, it didn’t work out that way.’
Coralie said Robson has anxiety and she’s having him assessed to see if he has another disability.
‘I wish they did it in care, but they didn’t.’
Coralie told the Royal Commission she was never given a chance to raise her own children.
‘Instead of just taking the kids straight away, maybe just … get me some help and the kids some help and things like that and then build it up so that we [could have all been] together still.’
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.