Juniper
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Juniper was born in a South Asian country. She is in her 40s and lives with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. A decade ago she damaged her knee. She can’t lift heavy things or stand for long periods of time.
‘I thought, I'm really too young to have a disability,’ she told the Royal Commission. ‘I've worked with the heavily disadvantaged community and disabled people … I have so much empathy to the families, how the families [are] breaking up, how they can't go back to work.’
Juniper is unable to access the Disability Support Pension (DSP) because of her husband’s income. ‘We [are] barely surviving with my medical expenses and the house mortgage and the kids.’
Before she injured her knee, Juniper had a corporate job. During her time off work, she went back to university and completed a master’s degree.
‘I have physical disability, but my brain working fine. They can utilise it, right?’
Juniper has been unable to find full-time employment. She eventually took a part-time position with a federal government agency, but she said the agency treated her differently once she disclosed her disability. It agreed to provide reasonable adjustments, but never did. Her contract was terminated and she has not had paid employment since.
Juniper feels that disability job agencies are ‘useless’ and that employers discriminate against her because of her physical disability and mental health issues.
Now she chooses not to tell people she has a disability. Instead, she hides it.
‘I haven't declared my anything, you know [but] my worry is if you don't … declare it, they will expect you to perform in the higher level, so I don't know whether I can perform it as a normal person, because of the pain.’
Juniper told the Royal Commission she wants to work ‘to contribute to society, contribute to [her] household financially’, but struggles to find employment.
‘It's come down to this disability, not my colour of the skin. I really think so, yep.’
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.