Ranald
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.
Ranald is in his 50s and has an acquired brain injury, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, antisocial personality disorder, dissociative identity disorder, schizophrenia and depression.
‘I had a hard time living my life with disability because I had to learn what a disability was,’ Ranald told the Royal Commission. ‘I had the common thing that most people go through with a disability – parents that have no education or understanding [of] a person with a disability.’
Ranald was born into a family ‘with a history of mental health disorders’ who, he said, had no idea how to help him. His parents weren’t aware a family member and another man raped him at home when he was a child.
‘I also wasn't aware that this guy was a paedophile. I didn't understand what a paedophile was. I didn't understand about sex.’
The child protection department removed him from his family when he was in primary school and placed him in a boys home.
‘It didn't stop there. As long as I was a state ward … and [later] homeless on the street, I was getting sexually abused … The system failed me from time after time, from the day I was born to this day. I am really pissed off and I think it's criminal.’
Ranald said he never learnt to read or write and is ‘unable to place [himself] in a safe place or get help or do anything’.
Ranald has been convicted of a number of sexual offences.
‘The worst thing they did was placing disability people in jail. That is so fucking criminal. No-one's got the right to do that to a disability person. They're robbed of a life when they're fucking born.’
Ranald is supported by the NDIS. When he was released from jail recently, he discovered the NDIS cut his funding. This was contrary to a report that Ranald needs more funding and a behavioural support plan to reduce his risk of re-offending.
‘You can't live unless you have a safe environment and a structural foundation around your day-to-day life, whether you want to work, whether you want counselling, whether you want to go to TAFE.’
Ranald told the Royal Commission service providers have mismanaged his support.
‘Not just mismanage my money. Lock me in my house and forget I'm there. Failing to get me on appointments in time. Failing to follow up my counselling … It's a problem today, it'll be a problem in the future, because unless people are actually properly interacting with NDIS, you don't know what shit is going on.’
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.