Out of the Darkness

After four years of investigation and harrowing testimony, the Disability Royal Commission has released its recommendations to the federal government to improve the lives of people with disabilities and help them gain autonomy. Disability rights advocate Elly Desmarchelier reports

Forced to live somewhere you didn't choose, with people you don't know. Forced to seek approval to go to work every morning. Forced to eat the same meal for dinner every night.

You have no control

Silenced when you are raped by your own support worker. Silenced when your baby is taken from your arms straight after birth. Silenced when you complain of pain or bruises that are spreading up your leg.

You have no voice

Hidden away in a house you are not allowed to leave after 5pm. Hidden in a sheltered workshop where you earn ist $2.37 an hour. Hidden behind group activities you never get to choose.

You are never seen

These scenarios reflect the raw and revealing testimonies of Australian women and men with disabilities. They are disturbing experiences our society rarely spoke about - until a Royal Commission finally brought our collective dirty secrets out of the darkness and into the light. For too many years, the abuse and violence committed against people with disabilities has been overlooked and disregarded.

But no more.

The Disability Royal Commission, established more than four years ago, in April 2019, was created in response to widespread reports of "violence against, and the neglect, abuse, and exploitation of, people with disability".

Its purpose was to investigate these reports by gathering information through research, public hearings, and personal experiences told privately to the commission.