As one of the centre’s few female detainees, sexual abuse, assault and harassment were part of the 14-year-old’s daily routine.

She was assaulted during strip searches, which were sometimes forcibly carried out by three male guards at a time, and regularly “watched”.

She wasn’t allowed to wear a bra – because the underwire was contraband, and had no-one to guide her through the normal parts of growing up as a young girl, such as menstruation.

Rebecca said some of the worst times at Ashley were during the innocuously named “therapeutic-based programs”, when the children were supposed to be receiving rehabilitative care through activities such as sport and meditation sessions.

That was when some of the worst assaults occurred, like the time Rebecca was sexually attacked by a group of fellow detainees.

And when she reported an assault, she was told it would be handled “internally”. But nothing happened – in fact she was threatened and told she’d get her “head kicked in”.

So when Rebecca heard the Tasmanian government planned to close down the troubled centre within three years and replace it with a new facility or facilities, she at first was catapulted back in time to those awful years in the early 2010s, reliving the trauma of her teens.

She describes that period of her life, just a few months ago, as a “breakdown” as she was forced to remember the past.

And then – when she heard the government didn’t plan to separate girls and boys in any new set-up – she became furious.

“I think it’s disgusting,” she said.

“Something needs to be done.”

TWENTY BOYS, TWO GIRLS

Rebecca said she was locked up at Ashley for nearly a year over a minor misdemeanour when the government couldn’t figure out where to house her.

So she was detained at Ashley alongside male adult staff – some of whom she said were predators – and up to 20 other boys, including one who had previously committed rape, and some youths who were over the age of 18.

Her days were marked by continual neglect and sexual victimisation.

Rebecca said she recently called Premier Peter Gutwein’s office and was horrified when she was told boys and girls would still be housed together in any new facility.

She is also disturbed by the focus on therapeutic-based programs, which is where she said “a lot of the assaults would happen”.

Rebecca said she learnt quickly not to speak up about what was happening to her.

“I definitely had threats made against me, especially after I spoke out about it, and I was scared … I was abused. I was called a dog, a slut, that I wanted it. And I had threats made against me, pretty horrendous ones, that I was gonna get my head kicked in. So then after that, I just didn’t speak up anymore.”

Sarah Courtney, Minister for Children and Youth, said boys and girls at Ashley had separate units and bedrooms, but said “some activities” were mixed gender, albeit with “comprehensive supervision by teachers and youth workers at all times”.

“Future facilities will be based on best practice and will consider the range of needs of young people sent to custody by the courts,” she said.

TARGETED BY GUARDS

Sophie* was 17 years old when she was detained at Ashley during 2005.

She says she was never harassed or abused by other detainees – but was regularly targeted by the facility staff, who she described as having “football team mentality”.

“There was a male worker who used to touch me up. He was just a creep. He was trying to get my personal contact information for when I got out of Ashley,” Sophie said.

“I was an attractive young girl. When you’re growing up you’re taught it’s a compliment and you don’t know how bad it is, you just know it’s gross.”

Sophie said the male staff member did in fact obtain the personal details of another female detainee and “rocked up” at her home after her release.

She said she too wasn’t believed when management investigated her claims.

“They came back and said I was a liar and that I was trying to make up a claim about rape,” she said.

“After that, the other male staff said we won’t go near you birdie.”

Sophie said she was also forced to undergo an internal search for a lighter, at the hands of two male workers, and that at one point, she suffered carpet burns to her face after a staffer dragged her by the hair across the floor.

At one point, she said she was locked in a room with a rapist – and ended up being restrained and locked up for the day when she protested.

Sophie said she didn’t believe the state government would improve conditions for children in detention centres.

“I think nothing’s going to change,” she said.

“Everyone has been saying these things for how many years and nothing ever changes.”

WOMEN STAYING SILENT

Lawyers Rowena Macdonald and Annabelle Ward are working on a class action against Ashley on behalf of an ever-climbing number of plaintiffs.

The number now suing the state government over the neglect and abuse they suffered now stands at 120.

But out of that group, only five are women – two of those being Rebecca and Sophie.

All of their clients say they have been left devastated by their experiences at Ashley, with the female clients adding they were constantly sexualised during their time there.

“So we know there are proportionately more males that end up in youth detention, but even taking into account the disproportionate representation of women in detention, there are very few women who have come forward,” Ms Macdonald, of Angela Sdrinis Legal, said.

“(Women and girls) may raise a concern against two individuals, and the mob comes after you so that’s you’re silenced by the group. And that seems to be a female experience.”

* Names changed to protect identity.

Detention centre under the microscope

ASHLEY Youth Detention Centre will soon come under the microscope, with questions asked whether child sexual abuse was “normalised, facilitated or enabled” within its walls.

The Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian government’s responses of child sexual abuse allegations will hear evidence in February and March next year.

Earlier this week, counsel assisting the commission Maree Norton said abuse at Ashley may have been occurring at much higher rates than what had been reported.

“It may be that children either didn’t know they could complain, didn’t know how to complain, or were fearful of making a complaint,” she said.

“It might also be that there has been deliberate cover-up either of abuse or risks of abuse. There may have been failures to report harm; victimisation of children and others who make complaints. There may have been attempts to discourage complaints.”

Ms Norton said in the coming three years before Ashley closes down, it was concerning more children will be placed in care there.

“Without change, three years may be too long a time for the state to continue to house some of its most vulnerable children at Ashley,” she said.

Rowena Macdonald, who is working on a class action involving 120 former Ashley detainees suing the state, encouraged more women to share their stories to be part of the process for change.

“We’re at this unique point in time where we’ve got a Commission of Inquiry running, we’ve got a class action going. It’s an opportunity to really get the story right so that we get the solution right,” she said.

The commission will investigate how complaints are made and handled at Ashley, how records are kept and notifications made and staff training.

It will also examine strip searching, threats, harmful sexual behaviours by detainees and potential sexual abuse perpetrated by staff.