Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

The youngest member of our family, Jill, was perhaps more traumatised through all this process becauseshe grew up from the age of 9 months being institutionalised the whole time. She actually had somemajor trauma illnesses and trauma manifestations of institutional life evident in her life and yet nobodyknew the root of it, or the cause of it, let alone knew the remedy to it. [The cottage mother] used a lot ofmental cruelty on Jill – I mean, through cutting all of her hair off at one time to exert authority and tobring submission and fear into you … making the kids look ugly and dress like boys. She did that to theyounger children – well Jill in particular because she was younger and more impressionable. Jill diedbecause of those policies in law. She committed suicide. She was 34 and death was the better thing.Confidential evidence 265, Victoria.I remember all we children being herded up,like a mob of cattle, and feeling the humiliationof being graded by the colour of our skinsfor the government records.Confidentialsubmission 332, Queensland: woman removed inthe 1950s toCootamundraGirls’ Home.