Jav
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.
Jav is a First Nations man in his early 20s. He was diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when he was five.
Jav grew up in foster care. He said he missed out on a lot of his education. In his last years of primary school he was only allowed to attend for two hours a day because he was ‘clearly crazy for them to deal with’.
As a young teenager he ran away from home, lived on the streets, got involved in gangs and started using ice.
‘I used ice to settle me down because it’s the only thing that’s like Ritalin for me,’ he said. ‘It just settles me down and makes me – makes me feel normal. So I’ve been using ice since I was 13.’
Jav has been in and out of detention since then, and was in prison when he spoke to the Royal Commission. He has been in trouble for assaults on staff.
‘You know, most of them are due to my ADHD and because they were treating me like – like an idiot. They were treating me with disrespect and – and in my head I was thinking, “Why aren’t you respecting me?” You know, “I’m just trying to be me.”’
Jav said he has a history of self-harm.
‘It’s not me wanting to kill myself. It’s me having a down moment and me needing time to pick myself back up again.’
Prison staff respond by putting him in a ‘dress’, or straitjacket, and placing him under observation.
‘Then I’ve got to do two, three weeks in a dress. And it’s not fair because I’m just having a down moment, and I lose everything from my cell – my music, my drawing stuff, I lose everything.’
He told the Royal Commission prison officers need better training in recognising and managing mental health issues.
‘There’s a difference between the people that are seeking attention or trying to bribe the system and manipulate the system and people like me … that have real drama and nightmares and, you know. There’s a big difference but they don’t know that because they don’t learn it. They learn how to deal us with physically, but they don’t learn how to deal with us mentally. They don’t understand mental health, and I think that’s a big thing that needs to change.’
Sometimes, he said, all he needs is for staff to talk to him.
‘And I tell them, “Look, I’m having a bit of a bad day,” and they sit there for five or 10 minutes and have a chat to me, you know.’
Jav described being assaulted by prison staff and said they often respond to situations with unnecessary violence.
‘You know, you stand up too quickly, they drag you to the ground and start kneeing you, you know? They don’t need to always use that force.’
He said staff need to be better at de-escalating situations.
‘They need to learn how to – how to talk to us with a bit of respect, and then that will calm us down … Then they’re talking to us and not yelling at us, you know, so they’re less of a threat which means we’ll calm down quicker. I know that from experience,’ he said.
‘Don’t treat us like we’re idiots. Don’t treat us like we’re abnormal. Treat us like we’re normal people, and we – most of us will act normal. And some of us can’t act normal because of our cognitive skills or because of our mental health or because of our disability. But if they understand them then they’ll understand that we’re not playing up. We’re just struggling. We’re just trying to live and trying to get by.’
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.