legal system, had ruined her life for years. She
said it had the following impact:
· She suffered abuse from the police while in
of the negative view the police had towards
Koori people.
· She was not listened to and felt that no
the time to allow her to speak or tell her story.
fearful and felt lost and alone.
interstate and had relocated to Victoria
and became a part of the community
in Victoria. However, the shame she
experienced affected her relationships in
both communities because, "everyone knows
everyone's business and word go around that
Annie was `in trouble'". Once this reputation
started she was not able to change anyone's
view of her, especially the Elders, which
caused Annie more shame. This was part of
the reason why Annie left the new community
she was living in and relocated.
of breakdowns in Annie's life, resulting in
an increase of alcohol and drug use and
eventuating in the loss of her home and
her children through Department of Human
Services (DHS) involvement.
community was difficult when she had no
support to assist her to get her life together.
This reduced her ability to be seen as a
role model amongst her peers which was
something that was very important to her.
Annie believes that if she had been shown
support from the first point of contact with the
law (police) and then throughout her journey
in the legal system coming into contact with
Legal Aid, court system, things may not have
spiralled out of control in other areas of her life.
Annie believes if there were support services
to address her issues from the beginning she
would have taken it.
She believes that support should address the
following concerns:
· self-esteem issues, which are a big concern
in dysfunctional relationships with partners
who are often involved in alcohol and drug
use and often these relationships centre
around domestic violence
· parenting skills
· social skills and learning how to relate with
the police.
measures around the issue of confidentiality
within Koori services. Annie stated that part
of the reason why she was anxious about
accessing an Indigenous-focused service
is because "people talk and the whole
community knows who you've seen, what
has been said and what your issues are".
Annie's experience with support workers in
the community has been negative due to this
reason and she says that confidentiality is not
as strict as it is in mainstream services.