Jonas
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.
‘There was no direct support or anyone that I came across who was on the side of the child.’
Jonas told the Royal Commission that as a child he experienced abuse and neglect at home, school and in the health system. Now in his early 50s, he says those experiences still haunt him today.
Jonas has a congenital disorder. It affects his physical appearance, mobility, sight, hearing and speech.
‘Home was an unsafe place,’ Jonas said. He described his father as ‘a violent alcoholic’ and said his family were very poor, ‘constantly on the run from my father’s mental health issues and violence’. Jonas remembers spending a lot of his childhood hiding under the house.
In year 5 he moved to a large state school – it proved to be as unsafe as home.
‘My disability and my physical differences were glaringly obvious and from the moment that transfer took place I was bullied and beaten on a near daily basis.’
The abuse escalated each year until the end of high school.
‘My childhood and adolescence were spent living in fear and this fear often meant that I would avoid attending school by hiding or by outright refusing to go.’
By his mid-teens Jonas was underdeveloped for his age. Doctors gave him steroids to help him grow. During this time he became increasingly agitated and violent, smashing windows and doors.
‘I was unable to control my temper and I lived in a very hyper‐agitated state of mind.’
Towards the end of his teens a group of boys his own age held Jonas down and raped him.
Over the course of his life Jonas has had dozens of medical procedures.
‘I was constantly ridiculed by specialist doctors who treated me with a lot of disregard.’ Jonas was paraded in his underwear at medical conferences. ‘They poked and prodded me, talked about me, talked above me but never talked to me. They added to my sense of personal shame and self-hatred.’
Later Jonas learned many of the surgeries he had were completely unnecessary and have only added to the physical challenges he lives with.
As soon as Jonas turned 18 he stopped taking steroids. He left the city he was living in and eventually went to university.
He said he feels much stronger today but realises he was never given a chance to participate in his own life.
He hopes in future children with disability are encouraged and allowed to be part of their local communities.
Jonas wants people with disability celebrated and welcomed for their difference, free of ridicule and scorn.
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.