Uri and Ivar
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.
Ivar is a refugee on a Temporary Protection Visa. His son Uri is ‘non-verbal with significant disabilities and complex needs’.
Ivar told the Royal Commission that Uri enjoyed primary school but after transitioning to high school ‘never settled in well … was sometimes unhappy or badly behaved’.
One day Ivar noticed dark bruises on Uri’s hands and arms ‘with no explanation’. Sometime later, he was asked to ‘go to our son’s school urgently’.
School staff had reported the swimming teacher for ‘aggressive and unacceptable behaviour’ towards Uri.
‘The teacher was seen several times squeezing my son’s arm very hard and pulling him under water until his head was completely submerged and then releasing him coughing and choking.’
Ivar told us Uri was traumatised.
The school reported the incident to the department of education. A few weeks later the Department advised Ivar the case was closed because the swimming teacher had ‘resigned and was not in their employ anymore’.
Ivar went to the police and asked them to investigate the assault.
‘Soon afterwards, I heard … that they were not going to pursue the case further because they did not have enough evidence.’
Ivar went to the state’s crime and misconduct commission to no avail.
‘We didn't speak to a lawyer, firstly because we do not have enough money to pay for their services and secondly, we don't know the laws well enough to take legal action against the teacher.’
Uri’s behaviour has ‘significantly deteriorated’ since the incidents. ‘At times he has become uncontrollable with real risk of self-harm, injuries and damage,’ Ivar told us. He has not returned to school because of these behaviours.
Ivar believes if Uri received more support at the time of the incidents ‘he would probably be more easily managed today’.
Ivar would like something to be done about the assault and for Uri to receive additional supports and compensation.
Uri’s paediatrician recommends he have ‘24/7 care’. Due to Uri’s high care needs, only one of his parents is able to work and the family struggles financially.
‘My son cannot access any disability support programs and my wife as his carer cannot apply for any payments from Centrelink (such as a carer payment) because only permanent visa holders are eligible.’
Uri’s has two siblings. His parents worry about them because, Ivar says, ‘the high needs of the oldest brother leave us with very little time to spend with them’.
Ivar would like to see the government ‘made aware that by denying us a Permanent Protection Visa they have denied [Uri] his rights to receive the therapies that severely autistic children need to develop skills to communicate and behave more normally’.
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.