Disagreeing with somebody’s professional decisions is one thing. Just leave their personal choices out of it.
Australian women in the public eye are no strangers to attacks by conservative commentators, as the likes of Julia Gillard, Anna Bligh, Christine Nixon and Peta Credlin know all too well.
But today, Daily Telegraph journalist Piers Akerman reached a vile new low in his column about Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs – because instead of just attacking her professional judgment, he criticised the way she chose to care for her late daughter.
Her late, profoundly disabled daughter Victoria.
Victoria was born in 1984 with a chromosomal disorder called Edwards syndrome and was “as severely retarded as anyone who is still alive can be,” Triggs told a Fairfax interviewer in 2013.
The syndrome is associated with characteristics including structural heart defects, intestines protruding outside the body, breathing difficulties, kidney malformations, intellectual disability, a small head, clenched hands, an abnormally small jaw.
Most foetuses with the syndrome die before birth, but Victoria “had this inner rod of determination”, Triggs said and lived until age 21. When Victoria was six months old, Triggs and her former husband found a foster family who were better equipped to care for their daughter’s complex needs.
Victoria lived with that family until her death at age 21.
Both the decision to have their daughter live with another family and her death were no doubt, heartbreaking for both Triggs and former husband Sandy Clark.
Akerman – a climate change-denying columnist renowned for his unfounded allegations about the sexuality of Julia Gillard’s partner – had a point to make about Gillian Trigg’s professional decision making today. So he decided to use Victoria as cheap political fuel.
Writing about Triggs’ work on the commission’s report into children in immigration detention, which was tabled in Parliament in Wednesday, Akerman wrote: “Triggs is the last person to lecture anyone on the human rights of children”.
He then described Victoria’s placement into care with another family as ‘proof’ that Triggs had total disregarded the rights of her own daughter.
If this parallel wasn’t bad enough in and of itself, Akerman’s conclusion was truly abhorrent and emotionally cut-throat.
“(Triggs) should resign,” he wrote.
“But that would require a conspicuous display of the sort of morals in which she is so apparently deficient.”
While Triggs has not directly engaged with the comments made by Akerman publicly, a colleague of hers told Mamamia that the Commission president was feeling “surprised and hurt that the attacks on her were of such a personal nature.”
And rightly so.
Akerman’s writing is personal, vindictive, opportunistic and completely misunderstands the private nature of a public person’s life.
Attacking somebody’s decision about how best to raise their child, particularly in circumstances involving a child’s profound disability requiring ongoing care, and the subsequent loss of that child, is nothing short of sickening.
Triggs and her former partner made a gut-wrenchingly hard decision 30 years ago – they made it in the best interests of their family – and it has absolutely zero bearing whatsoever on her work as Human Rights Commission president today.
Related content: Gillian Triggs recommended a wife-killer be set free. But hold your outrage, she deserves your support.
There’s no doubt that in general, debate about policy and the effectiveness of political processes is part of a healthy democracy.
But the attack on Triggs by the right in recent weeks has been sustained and deeply personal. Akerman’s column brings that campaign into new, disgraceful territory.
It should never have been published. And it certainly does nothing to win us over to Akerman’s version of what ‘morality’ is.
Top Comments
Jackie, you are spot on. This Gillian Triggs has to go and what Gillian Triggs has had to cop is no more than what our politicians, male or female have to cop, just look at some of the post on Barnaby Joyce's Facebook page and you'll see what I mean. And how can anyone support Gillian Triggs when Triggs recommends a wife killer be set free?.
As a mother and a nurse, I agree that Gillian Triggs is the last person I would identify with compassion. The comments she has made about this poor disabled child were so insensitive I could hardly believe that they actually came from the same person who is the Human Rights Commissioner. Triggs is a proven liar and a disgrace as a "mother."
Totally agree with your comment Jackie. As the parent of a severely disabled son now in his late 40's, I find Triggs decision and judgement disgusting. Our son suffered severe brain damage when he was almost 5 years old. He was diagnosed with Reyes Syndrome and we also we told after many tests and visits to specialists that he would not survive. At that time, apparently they had been very few cases of this disease and most passed away in early life. Our son is still at home with us and is still the joy of our later lives. Like most parents who love and care for disabled children, we continue to provide the best home care and love for our Michael and would never consider just "giving up' on him.
We too have had four other children in our lives when caring for Michael and it was indeed difficult at times not only for us as parents, but also the other children. Our marriage has grown to accept out responsibilities upon us but it has also been difficult in the early times of our lives. We will continue to look after our son at home for as long as we can from a health viewpoint. Both of us are now in our seventies and we accept that it is our duty and desire to care for our son, and not to place him elsewhere to suit our own selfish lifestyles and careers.