Lou and Ambrose
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 school tried to “manage us”, clearly putting the brand of the school above the needs of my daughter and ourselves.’
Lou attended a high school that prided itself on supporting students, like her, with mild to moderate intellectual disability.
At the start, Lou was ‘very happy, social and well-adjusted’, her dad Ambrose told the Royal Commission. But by her junior year she had developed anxiety, depression and ‘regressed significantly in many ways’.
Lou stopped being able to toilet herself and withdrew from every activity she had previously enjoyed. She started having panic attacks and sometimes ‘seemed to be in a permanent state of fear – not drinking, eating or sleeping’.
Lou’s psychiatrist repeatedly asked Ambrose if anything had happened to Lou which might be a cause of her mental health issues.
Ambrose eventually discovered something had happened.
An older boy at the school had taken Lou to bushland on school grounds and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions.
Lou’s parents were ‘heartbroken’. They felt they had ‘failed to keep her safe’ sending her to school every day.
The principal reported the abuse to police and ‘took it upon himself’ to interview the perpetrator. Other girls were involved but the principal told Ambrose they were ‘willing participants’.
The perpetrator returned to school after three days and the principal requested Lou also return. He tried to reassure Lou’s parents she would be safe because the boy would be kept in a separate class. But he was already in separate classes.
Ambrose discovered this wasn’t the first time the school had ‘covered up’ abuse. Had the school acknowledged their mistakes, Ambrose said, they could have worked with the community to make sure they were not repeated.
‘All children should be safe at school and safety considerations should be the highest priority for vulnerable children with disability,’ Ambrose said.
‘I remain appalled at how the school could have been so negligent as to allow this abuse to happen multiple times to multiple children.’
Lou left school and is being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder.
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.