Kathryn
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.
‘Just treat us like anyone else.’
Kathryn has Tourette syndrome and several co-occurring conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety. She’s studying to be a primary school teacher.
‘I have dreams of becoming a teacher, but the barriers to this have been so extreme that I have developed more issues than when I started university,’ she told the Royal Commission. ‘I had lecturers and unit coordinators try to scare me away from a career I have so much passion for.’
Kathryn is in her 20s and completed a Bachelor of Arts. When she began her Master of Teaching degree, her supervisors told her she would be ‘mocked, bullied and teased by students’. She had by then been working for months with primary school students ‘without issue’.
‘I have been pulled into "hallway meetings" to be told that I may not get to my master degree.’
The university then asked her to meet extra conditions before a practical teaching placement.
‘[It’s] a requirement that is not expected from my peers and is only a requirement for me because I have an obvious disability.’
After completing extra tasks, Kathryn said the university ‘chose to move the goal post once again’. She was told her volunteer work, awards for student leadership and employment as a [Peer Assisted Study Session] facilitator wasn’t enough to show that she wasn’t a ‘danger’ to students. She had to complete a safety assessment.
‘I typically can function well, attending university and living daily life,’ she said, even though her she experienced unfair treatment because of her disability. This included ‘being screamed at by bus drivers’ and being asked to leave the university library because of her tics.
The university’s attempts to stop her becoming a teacher, however, took a greater emotional toll.
‘In recent months I have been hospitalised three times into a mental health ward due to situational related crises.’
She said she had tried to end her life and had regular panic attacks.
‘Now [I] fear that if I speak out naming myself or my university, I will face retaliation and be kicked out of my degree or have to face more barriers than I already do.’
Kathryn said she explained this fear to the university’s disability unit, which apologised but told her it was ‘a necessary burden’ she needed to accept ‘to be heard.’
‘People like myself shouldn't have to prove we are able to do everything above and beyond that of a non‐disabled person just to be given the same opportunities and respect you inherently give to non‐disabled people.’
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.