Individual or Group Submission
20 August 2024
Anonymous 923’s non-Aboriginal former husband was often violent towards her, but when police responded, they frightened her and her young child the next day, reaching for their guns while alone with them in her kitchen. This broke her trust in seeking help, on top of already being afraid of asking for help from the system because of her family’s history of having children removed. She also recalls being offered opioids for pain relief when in hospital after the birth of her child, and wonders if she had accepted them, whether her child would have been taken away from her. She has seen systems weaponised and used in the wrong way over her lifetime, creating more harm than good. But she remains resilient and has moved forward positively with her family and life.