Coroner's Court: tragic death of Bendigo child XY in state care

She loved to sing and dance. She was artistic and adventurous.

She was loved and her death has touched many.

Those are some of the ways a 17-year-old girl was remembered in the Coroner's Court inquest opening on October 23 in Bendigo.

A smoking ceremony at the Bendigo Court prepared attendees for the first day of the process looking into how the girl, XY (a pseudonym), lost her life by suicide and how the state could prevent anything similar from happening again.

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The court heard the "very sad circumstances" of XY's life, both before she was removed from her family at age 13 and in the four years under the care of the Department of Fairness, Families and Housing.

The girl, XY, had been removed from her family at age 13 and died in 2021 by suicide.

The court heard that as a young girl, XY loved to dress up and loved to play outside.

"Those who knew (XY) in her teenage years describe her as fun and loving with a good sense of humour which was sometimes dark," the court heard.

"(She) was spiritual, creative and quirky in her likes.

"She loved Care Bears and had a strong dislike for the colour orange.

"(She) was loved and her passing has deeply affected many people."

The court heard the young woman was "disconnected from her family, her culture and her community" at the time of her death but was proud of her Aboriginal identity.

Coroner Simon McGregor told the court the ultimate aim of the inquest was to examine where mistakes were made in the experiences of XY and to work to reduce preventable deaths in the future.

The court heard Aboriginal children and young people were "grossly over-represented" in Victoria's child protection system.

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Statistics from the Yoorrook Justice Commission were highlighted, which outlined that, as of June 30 2022, Aboriginal children were five times as likely to be the subject of a report to child protection services, eight times as likely to be found 'in need of protection' by child protection services and 21 times as likely to be in out-of-home care.

The court also heard that 29 per cent of children in Victorian state care as of March 31, 2023, were Aboriginal.

XY had a large number of visits to health services in Victoria in her life and struggled with the instability of her care placements - of which she had seven in four years.

The court heard, at times, police and paramedics had to sedate, restrain or capsicum spray XY when she was so upset she posed a danger to herself.

At the time of her removal from home she had made allegations of physical abuse. The court was told there were allegations of physical violence at two of XY's later placements.

She subsequently disclosed, to carers and service workers, multiple allegations of sexual abuse and rape by a number of older men, including her stepfather, and peers of similar ages.

The court heard harrowing details of some of these alleged assaults.

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She alleged a 35-year-old man she met on Snapchat had raped her while she was handcuffed. An intervention order was made to protect her from this man.

She alleged another adult man was dealing drugs to her stepfather when she was raped by him.

She was also allegedly raped by her stepfather.

The court heard allegations XY had made that she had fallen pregnant as a result and her stepfather had attacked her with a brick "to kill the baby" which resulted in a miscarriage.

The court heard XY struggled knowing that her mother did not believe the allegations about XY's stepfather.

XY alleged her mother had contacted her by TikTok and called her a "liar" after she began the process of reporting the man to police.

XY also did not have contact with her siblings despite frequently expressing a desire to see them.

The inquest will investigate the extent to which child protection services were responsive to opportunities to engage with and provide support to XY and to her family.

The adequacy of the care and services provided to her will also be a key focus including elements of case planning and management, supervision and monitoring and risk management.

XY's alcohol and drug use and placement instability, as well as the extent to which she had influence over her own care and placement plans, will also fall within the scope of the inquest.

Beyond the DFFH's child protection services, the Coroner's Court will also look into the work of Anglicare, Victoria Police - following XY's disclosures of sexual abuse - the Aboriginal Child Specialist Advice and Support Service (ACSASS) and the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative.

The inquest will continue with 13 witnesses to appear across three expert panels.

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