A First Nations transgender woman living in Naarm (Melbourne) has told the Disability Royal Commission she is scared to go outside due to constant physical and verbal abused.
Ricki Spencer lives with a range of physical and psycho-social disabilities and was recently diagnosed with autism.
Ms Spencer told the Royal Commission she was sometimes unable to walk in public without being subjugated to verbal and physical harassment.
She said she was unsure whether it was her gender identity or disability which drew the most torment, but that the level of abuse had left her preferring to be home-bound.
"I'm just too frightened to spend the time going out in public," she said.
"Don't make us another space where someone from our communities gets murdered or bashed, because you're not only just bashing the person, you're destroying their whole family and their connected friends.
"You are sending a message that says if you don't fit in the ableist world and heteronormative world, then you don't belong or have a right to be here."
Lacking access to a car, Ms Spencer is reliant on public transport, which she described as a a double-edged sword.
While the ease of access was welcome, Ms Spencer said walking to public transport was often when she would be subjected to abuse.
She said a move to the online world had allowed more control of her environment and how people percieved her.
"You can take your screen off so that they don't have to keep staring at you," she said.
"You can move away from that screen.
"But when you are physically in a space, I've encountered, you can't stop that, you can't stop someone from spitting on you."
Recounting one incident where an elderly couple abused her at a hospital, Ms Spencer said she often felt she was at fault for taking up space.
"Nobody cared," she said.
"Not even the receptionist or the nurse at the little office.
"They were saying, "What is that? Why is that even here? What - what are they trying to do? Look at them.
"You know, today, I might have someone spit on me, but perhaps tomorrow someone might push me on the road, to a car or push me off a train track."
Ms Spencer is actively involved in Transgender Victoria, and advocates for the use of police liaison officers to ease the reporting process for diverse people.
She said systemic change was needed to improve reporting of incidents to authorities.
"Reporting has to be co-designed and developed so that the reporting doesn't become retraumatizing and then lead to PTSD," Ms Spencer said.
Earlier in the day's proceedings, University of Tasmania policing and emergency management professor Nicole Asquith said liaison officers should be made available after hours.
"Having a central resource of people who are specifically trained on the issues in relation to working with people with disability, I think is really critical," she said.
- Story by Briana Charles
