📩 SWANK Dispatch: My Children Were Sexually Abused by a State Doctor—But You’re Threatening Truancy
🗓️ 6 August 2020
Filed Under: DSD misconduct, homeschool retaliation, sexual abuse by physician, safeguarding trauma, truancy misuse, shifting policy excuse, administrative gaslighting, unlawful property entry, complaint commission, public school rejection
“You threatened to take my children
despite the fact that I submitted my curriculum.
But when a doctor exposed them
in front of nine adults,
you didn’t even file a report.”
— A Mother Who Has Survived State Surveillance in Multiple Countries
This letter to Willette A. Pratt, Senior Investigative Officer at the Complaints Commission, outlines a catalogue of procedural violence by the Department of Social Development (DSD), including:
Sexual abuse of her sons at the National Hospital by a doctor during an unconsented “safeguarding” exam
Multiple unannounced visits and forced interrogations with no explanation
Illegal property entry, including dismantling her fence
No reports ever given, violating legal and ethical obligations
🧠 I. Bureaucracy Over Trauma
Despite the trauma:
The family was told their homeschooling wasn’t approved
They were declared truant
The mother was threatened with child removal unless she submitted:
Written homeschool request
Curriculum
Child ages
Her qualifications
Socialisation evidence
An annual teacher assessment
All of this after the Department had acknowledged her homeschooling approval in 2017 through Mark Garland.
🧬 II. A Mother’s Timeline of Survival
The letter gives a concise migration history that highlights her effort to protect her family:
Moved between the USA, Grand Turk, Providenciales, and London to escape trauma
Survived robbery, housing collapse, deportation separation, mould exposure, and state harassment
Homeschools four children in the face of constant obstruction
🧾 III. What She Asked For
Direct communication from Edgar Howell at the Department of Education
A transparent copy of the homeschool policy
Respect for the agreement made with Mark Garland
Legal clarity and consistency
SWANK Summary:
She was following the rules.
They kept changing the rules.
And now they want to punish her
for surviving what their systems inflicted.