This page goes into some detail on the sorts of things you can tell the Disability Royal Commission about, and may be confronting for some people. If you find anything you read here upsetting, there is free counselling and support available here.
The Disability Royal Commission is interested in hearing about:
Violence and abuse (if someone is hurting you or treating you badly)
This can include:
- physical assault,
- sexual assault,
- being physically restrained,
- being forced to take medicine or try a treatment you don’t want, bullying, humiliation and harassment,
- a person or an organisation that does not allow you to have privacy and dignity.
Neglect (if someone is not helping you the way they are supposed to help you)
If a person with disability is being denied the basic necessities of life such as food, drink, shelter, access, mobility, clothing, education, medical care and treatment, this is neglect.
Exploitation (if someone is taking advantage of you)
means the improper use of another person or the improper use of or withholding of another person’s assets, labour, employment or resources including taking physical, sexual, financial or economic advantage. (Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability 2019).
You can talk to the Disability Royal Commission about any kind of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation committed against people with disability in any setting, including your school, at work, at home (including group homes and boarding houses), at the doctor or hospital, at your day program, by the police or within the justice system, with your service provider, or anywhere else in your community.
Some questions to think about are:
- What happened?
- When and where did it happen?
- Who did it happen to (you or someone else)?
- Who was responsible?
- Did you tell anyone, and was anything done about it?
- What needs to change to prevent it from happening again?
The Royal Commission has a longer list of helpful questions here.
