Our little lambs must not be lost – who will protect them? The vulnerable remain at risk in disabilities and with no one to protect them from those who would harm them in programs, in care, in classrooms…they are without any protection or justice – we the parents must change this! Our only chance now is CCTV cameras and laws to be changed that make it criminal to hurt a disability person.
At least in NSW it remains almost impossible to get assault charges laid when a disability child is harmed no matter how much they have been assaulted or not given proper duty of care and even in death there is little done in the justice system for these vulnerable ones. Because if they are non verbal they cannot make a statement – a disability person should not need to make a statement when they come home with injuries on their bodies from being with workers who hurt them or let them get hurt and then pretend it never happened. Workers who lose their tempers and are not fit to work with our children.
We need one decent court case to set a precedent for protection and prosecution for those who hurt the kids and adults with disabilities. Yet no magistrate seems to care enough. Must our lambs be sacrificed for the sake of corporate money to be made by those rich providers living off the need of desperate parents and the most vulnerable children in society – our wealthy Australian society.
It was good to see both the management and worker from the day care centre in Cairns (ABC News 12 April 2022) now getting manslaughter charges laid against the childcare worker also as well as the manager. These are the people who forgot about their ward, the one they were meant to be caring for who was part of the child care centre, a dear little boy, called Maliq, in 2020, leaving him in the bus outside the childcare centre, they had picked him up in and let the little three year old boy die from the heat in a hot bus after being in there all day from 9.30am to 2.30pm outside the childcare center forgotten by the two people who ran the day care. For shame another mother’s heart broken to face the loss of her baby son. https://www.abc.net.au/.../childcare-worker.../100984640
Mothers do not get over this. I watched my own mother in grief when her grown son died at 18 years old from a house fire and then when she years later when she died I buried her next to her son, on a surreal day in my home town, everyone knew at the funeral she had never was without the grief of losing him. Most of the people at her funeral, all her friends and relatives, had been at her son’s funeral. Now I have to put flowers on both their graves, when I visit. My baby brother I say to him, you never had a chance of a decent life. I hope my mother with him now and is happy is all I can say because words are never enough to express the despair in my heart.
I could not save my brother from harm, but I will protect and fight for my son, and now I will not let those despicable workers and management of disabilities providers hurt and exploit my son and anyone else like him who is so vulnerable and get away with it. They should not be able to cause abuse and harm and even death to our little vulnerable lambs and walk away with a clear conscience and no accountability! How dare they. Our society needs to recognize our precious children as human beings with rights and feelings just like them and not get away with ignoring their need for protection and for justice. They cannot defend themselves against harm. Yet it seems to be normalized that those with disabilities can be harmed and it does not matter.
At least people who run a daycare are getting charged with manslaughter – because they caused this little boys death through negligence. Yet for those with disabilities children these charges do not occur so easily after someone’s death or assault by workers who are meant to be caring for them.
No charges were laid for the death of Merna Aprem, the sweet 19 year old girl, who died in care at Afford disabilities, in 2019, no charges for the workers who did not supervise her in the bath, and evidently did not get informed that she was prone to seizures and should never be left in the bath or shower alone – yet why wouldn’t it be common sense not to leave someone with a disability alone in the bathroom ?– I know my son cannot be left alone and could easily slip in a shower or keep turning the hot water on in the bath he has to be watched like a hawk always– you cannot leave a vulnerable person alone in such a risky situation. That should be a basic for any disability worker to know – do they not even get taught the basics? The support workers are let off any charges or blame for letting someone die who has disabilities. Is that normal in court to let off the carer from any responsibility for those they care for is this not duty of care they have breached? Apparently the workers cannot get in trouble. Why? Our law system needs to change its attitude to those with disabilities. It also needs to stop thinking about the money and make some kind of equity of justice for those who are vulnerable. Harm in disabilities is normalized. It must not be allowed to continue into the court system.
Now we see that the NDIS instead is suing Afford Disabilities as they should be charged for lack of duty of care and failing to look after the people they are making big money by looking after (barely doing this care). It is a systemic problem, sure with a lot of criminals at the top making money at the expense of the lives of the vulnerable. That does not mean the criminals who harm our children at the workers level should still get away with it. They should be charged.
In the Sunnyfields case where three persons were treated badly and one boy with autism, in a wheelchair, non verbal and blind, so vulnerable, in particular was punched by a worker and dragged out of his wheelchair by the hair – yet no charges - and another time had a half closed swollen eye and at one stage blood all over the inside of the van when he was dropped off to his mother by the care worker who explained it away as the boy having an ‘episode’ which the mother knew her son did not have episodes like that at all. Other workers saw what the perpetrator did at the residential house and one testified and yet – the Magistrate dropped the charges of assault after there was testimony by the eyewitnesses – he said there was not enough evidence?? How much evidence do you need if someone has been injured and it was seen by others and a person is willing to testify in court about it? I wonder if Judges have decided to not let any charges be made for assault in disabilities because of their own bias or prejudice and lack of understanding of a child or person with disabilities or in fact not even recognizing them as people. https://thenewdaily.com.au/.../sunnyfield-disability.../
The police even did the right thing and laid charges against the two workers who were involved with harming the three disabilities persons at Sunnyfields residential care yet the magistrate says “not enough evidence” we so need the cameras in in disabilities. If the magistrate had said yes they were assaulted they were injured by the worker it would have set a precedent in law and I wonder if they are afraid of too many cases then coming forward? If the cameras are put in these places of ‘care’ there would be a rise in cases coming forward because there would be enough evidence then would there not?
At present it remains hidden. Especially for those children who are non verbal is a lifetime of possible abuse by others because they cannot talk about and they cannot defend themselves.
For ‘normal’ kids there is justice for those such as the little boy who died in the bus forgotten by the worker and manager (what were these people thinking?) and rightfully there should be. Why call yourself childcare or daycare if you do not care about the children or vulnerable at all? This should not be! Sign my petition change.org/disabilitycameras
WE need justice for our disability children so that in future it will not be allowed to happen that someone who cannot speak up or protect themselves is left without any defence and the right care they should have had. Little kids cannot look after themselves or protect themselves from the wolves, neither can those vulnerable in disabilities. WE must see to their protection and not let anyone else be allowed to be harmed or die in any kind of care or classroom.
All the best
Anndrea x

change.org/disabilitycameras

#disabilitylivesmatteroz