Past experiences of discrimination can make people with disabilities reluctant to report being assaulted to police. But a spate of recent public assaults has prompted advocates to call for research to help uncover the extent of the problem in Tasmania.
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00:00A recent bus trip home from work left August Phamploo with physical and emotional injuries.
00:09These girls came up to me and started waving their hands in my face, getting really close
00:14to me, filming me with the camera.
00:16They were saying very derogatory stuff to me and I was trying to ignore them but they
00:23just wouldn't stop.
00:24August lives with autism and learning disabilities and believes this is why they were harassed
00:30and assaulted.
00:31I put my hands up to defend myself and they kept hitting my hands and it resulted in a
00:40broken bone in my hand.
00:43I think they just know that I was a target who wouldn't fight back.
00:48August reported their attack to Tasmania Police which says it's investigating.
00:53August is not alone, their experience is one of two known alleged attacks against
00:58people with disabilities that have already occurred this year in the Greater Hobart region.
01:04Advocates say there's little data on assaults on people with disabilities in Tasmania and
01:09many attacks aren't reported to police.
01:12It's once again that internalised ableism where I'm responsible for this and I'm just
01:18not going to tell anybody.
01:20Tammy Milne wants more local research into the extent and types of assaults on people
01:25with disabilities.
01:27The recent cases have motivated her to formally ask the Tasmanian Government to fund this
01:32research.
01:33To get better services we need, to get some real data collection going, to see the depth
01:40of the problem.
01:42The Tasmanian Government says it's open to engaging with the community to improve safety
01:47for people living with disabilities and is in the process of appointing a disability
01:51commissioner who will help further improve safety.