GIRL 43 - Educational Resources

“Every single person has a purpose in them burning.”

Girl 43 is a great text for students in Years 11 -12 and older, and also university students and anyone studying social history, social justice and social work, pediatric nursing and medicine, in particular midwifery, Australian history, the child welfare care system, child protection, psychiatry, psychology, and teaching.

Through a fictional lens the author has drawn on real-life accounts, including her own personal experience, at the issues of forced adoption, teenage and under-age sex and pregnancy, drug abuse, the 60’s sexual revolution, institutional bullying, the child welfare care system, and unmarried mothers.

This is an important story about two of Australia’s worst human rights violations, the Forgotten Australians, that is, children placed in institutions or out-of-home care, and the victims of forced adoption. There were many reasons for placing a child in these orphanages, reformatories, mental institutions, foster homes and ‘out of care’ situations, and homes. In many cases, their parents could not support them. Other reasons included illness, death, divorce, desertion, substance abuse and domestic violence. It was not considered appropriate in those days for a father to raise children on his own. But many children in these Homes continued to be abused by staff and other inmates. The purpose of placing children in these institutions was to protect them. Instead, they were routinely abused physically and emotionally by the people employed to care for them.

Girl 43 takes place in one of Australia’s most notorious reformatories for girls under the age of 18: Parramatta Girl’s Home. Most of the girls were charged by the children’s court with being uncontrollable, neglected or in moral danger, not because they had done anything wrong or illegal, but because of their circumstances. It was a violent place where the girls were routinely physically, sexually, verbally and mentally abused by staff and other inmates.

WARNING: Teachers are advised that the book contains some confronting and disturbing stories and scenes. The author strongly advises that teachers read these Teachers Resources and Discussion Topics carefully before using them with their students, to ensure there will be no harmful reactions. Some students may have family members affected by forced adoption and/or the Forgotten Australians story.

Introduction:

Girl 43 is the story of fourteen-year-old Ellen, who is swept up in the historical and exciting 1960’s sexual and social revolution. During one incredible summer of forbidden freedom and love in 1970, things go very wrong for Ellen when she falls pregnant. The story describes what happens after the birth of her illegitimate baby.

Ellen gets more than a weekend of music and freedom when she defies her parents and travels north to Ourimbah, for Australia’s first ever outdoor rock music festival

Although Ellen wants to keep her baby, the “authorities” – social workers, clergy, hospital specialists, her parents, the Children’s Court in Surry Hills, Sydney, staff at Parramatta Girls’ Home where she was sent for being “exposed to moral danger” – have all made up Ellen’s mind for her: she is not capable of bringing up a baby on her own. She is “too young” “too naïve” “too immature” and she has “no money” to support a child.

To make it easy for the nurses and doctors to remove Ellen’s baby quickly, without any fuss, they heavily sedate her. She doesn’t know it yet, but they are planning to get her signature approving the adoption under false pretences, again, when she is sedated and not thinking clearly. Instead of telling her the document is an adoption consent agreement, they will tell her she is signing her hospital discharge papers. Meanwhile, immediately after the birth, her baby is secretly whisked away from the hospital to an unknown address, to wait for its new family to take it home. As Ellen is recovering from the birth, and still drugged, it is impossible for her to try and locate her baby.

When the magistrate at the Children’s Court in Albion Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, sentences Ellen to Parramatta Girls’ Training School, she is in deep shock. Many young girls who were sent to the institution have suffered from long-term PTSD, mental health issues, poverty and health problems.

In most of these cases, the father of the unborn child removed himself from the situation before the birth. The authorities often stepped in to prevent any contact. Many were fearful of being charged by the police for having sex with an under-age girl. Thousands of young girls were victims of forced adoption, just like Ellen.

How do you think a young pregnant girl might react to being told she is not capable of caring for her own baby? These girls found it hard to defend their rights. The adults caring for them were powerful. In particular, girls in Homes like Parramatta, had no real say in outcomes. The adults in charge of protecting them made all their decisions and didn’t listen to their views, opinions or hopes of a fair and decent outcome.

The experiences of the Forgotten Australians and victims of forced adoption is explored in a powerful, intuitive way in Girl 43. The story is a disturbing indictment of the so-called care system in Australia. Parramatta Girls’ Home, the Hay Institution for Girls, and hundreds of similar homes, were finally closed in the early 1970s after decades of human rights abuses.

The author has explored similar themes in her other two novels, The Past is a Secret Country and Under the Green Moon: family, sibling rivalry, sexual abuse, divorce, adoption and separation, identity and belonging, the Stolen Generation, and friendship.

In Girl 43 she has created a confronting and authoritative story about how easy it was to manipulate young unmarried pregnant teenagers in the care system, and convince them they were ‘unfit’ to be mothers. Thousands of young girls had their baby taken in this way to provide a thriving adoption market with newborns. Although it is a harrowing story, not least because of the enormous scale of the scandal, it is also a story of compassion and hope. This is a haunting and moving story that will stimulate discussion about the power of adults over young innocent children, many of whom came from broken or violent families and lost their way in the wider world.

Originally published by Virago in 2001 with the title Invisible Thread, the book was republished with the new title Girl 43 (43 was the author’s ‘number’ in Parramatta Girls’ Home), following the public apologies by Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

Themes & Curriculum Topics:

There are several themes covered in this book which might be related to the Australian Secondary School Curriculum and University level studies, including:

History, Society & Environment:

In addition to the two main themes, the Forgotten Australians and forced adoption, the novel offers students several controversial and important topics for discussion: family, love, compassion, hope, good Vs evil, courage, friendship, loyalty, trust, coming-of-age, the age of consent, power and corruption, survival, prejudice. Some names and places in the book were changed to protect the author. At the time of writing the novel the author was wary of legal and personal repercussions.

Discussion Point: Ellen wanted to be like her friends and go to Australia’s first ever outdoor music festival, Pilgrimage for Pop, held at Ourimbah, on the NSW northern coast, in January 1970. Her parents forbade her to go, but Ellen went anyway. Her friend was going, and her parents had given her permission. Ellen felt it was unfair and over-protective. It is easy to see their decision as unfair and strict now, because society has changed so much. But at the time many parents like Ellen’s were confused by the dramatic changes taking place in the world. At the festival Ellen meets a boy, Robbie, and “falls in love.” Discuss whether Ellen’s parents were too strict, given that her friend was allowed to go, along with hundreds of other girls of a similar age. Do you think her parents were right to try and protect her, especially in view of the outcome: falling pregnant under the “age of consent” (16). Do you think it is possible to “fall in love” at such a young age? Or is it different for each individual – some people are more “mature” sexually and mentally for their age. Should this have made a difference to their decision to forbid her going? Was Ellen wrong to defy them and go regardless of their opinion? There is a debate taking place in France at the moment (2021) about the age of consent. Discuss the different attitudes in France, which are controversial.

Discussion Point: How should the authorities have responded to Ellen’s situation? Was it right to have her arrested and charged with being “exposed to moral danger” under the Children’s Act, and sent before a magistrate at the Children’s Court in Sydney? Was it an extreme or fair punishment for defying her parents and running away from home to live with her boyfriend, to sentence her to Parramatta Girls’ Home, at the time Australia’s most notorious home for girls under the age of 18? What do you think the alternatives may have been, or should have been?

Discussion Point: Discuss the effect you think forced adoption may have had on the individuals affected, from the unmarried pregnant teenager herself, to the father of the baby, to their parents and extended family, and to friends. Would it have been more compassionate for the families to rally and support Ellen and others in her situation? To offer counselling and choices? What do you think the long-term consequences would be for the mother and baby of a forced adoption? When researching for the novel the author spoke with many women about the forced adoption of their baby when they were teenagers. Without exception they all admitted it had been a soul-destroying experience that has led to drug or alcohol addiction, depression, poverty, and life-long grief. Not knowing where their baby is, or with whom, instilled in them a sense of enormous loss and frustration that made it impossible to live a normal life. What lessons do you think society, in particular those involved in the adoption process today, may have learned from all this?

Discussion Point: In 2009, Kevin Rudd, then Australian Prime Minister, made a public apology to thousands of Forgotten Australians in Canberra. Do you think the lessons learned from past mistakes involving vulnerable children in care have been learned? What lessons do you think may have, or should have, been learned? How hard do you think is it to implement change within the care system? What do you think of the author’s assertion that in the past, care Homes attracted and harbored bullies, sexual predators, and sadists? How should this be monitored more effectively now, to protect children in Residential Care facilities or foster homes?

Discussion Point: Inside Parramatta Girls’ Home, which in the novel the author called Gunyah, (an Aboriginal word meaning “shelter”), Ellen is made to feel like a “bad person.” How do you think this may have affected her self-esteem in later life? Is it a label that is easy to ignore and forget, or do you think that in the context of being locked up it may have had a deeper psychological impact? Do you think name-calling or labelling is always detrimental to the victim? Should bullying in schools be more closely monitored/banned? Do you feel safe at school? Has a teacher ever insulted you or called you a name that affected your self-worth, for example have you ever been told you are “useless” or “lazy?” If so, did you have an opportunity to defend yourself or discuss the effect this had on you?

Discussion Point: Why do you think so many staff members in the Home were so cruel? Do you think violence and bullying is infectious, that is, if a person has any underlying or hidden sadistic tendencies, that being around other bullies, such inclinations might surface and be acted out?

Activity: Brainstorm ways to help vulnerable children who are at risk of being sent into an out-of-home residential facility or foster care, and how society, schools, professionals and individuals might be able to help prevent this. Some children are in danger in their own home, in which case ensuring their safety is vital. Discuss ways to help children from good homes who are losing their way for other reasons – peer pressure, exam pressure, social stress, social media, etc – onto a more productive path to ensure they are not taken into care. What do you do to make sure you are not “led astray” when pressured by friends who are experimenting with potentially harmful practices like drugs, under age sex, or alcohol? Do you talk to your parents and teachers about it? If not, why? If you find it hard to discuss these important life issues with adults, explore ways that you could perhaps influence changing this fear of open communication. The world is a very different place now, but there are still prejudices and judgement.

Discussion Point: Why do you think so many young people were locked up in similar institutions to Parramatta Girls’ Home before the mid-1970s? At the peak of this practice there were more than 800 Children’s Homes across Australia. What do you think of the author’s assertion that it was “convenient” to lock them up rather than to protect them within society, and that they were an “inconvenience” to society and therefore deserved to be detained? If you have heard of the expression “out of sight, out of mind” you will understand that the authorities felt it was easier to lock a child up, rather than spend time trying to help the child remain within the community, make healthier decisions, and lead a better life. Bear in mind when studying these topics that many children came from broken, violent homes.

Activity: Invite the author to give an online talk and discussion via Zoom at your school or university. As the book is based on the author’s personal experience she can provide a lot of inside information and detail. If this isn’t possible, get your teacher or other students to read aloud some extracts from the book, to encourage empathy and understanding and to spark further discussion. The author is also happy to ask questions by email: info@mareegiles.org

Discussion Point: The author struggled with several choices when writing the book. The first challenge was deciding whether to use real names or pseudonyms. At that time there had been no publicity about Parramatta or Hay or other similar Homes. The only news report about Parramatta, for example, was about riots at the Home in the 1960s. The girls involved were angry about the abuse at the Home, including rape and sexual abuse. The media reported these incidents, which took place on the rooftops of the institution, with a bias in the Home’s favour. The girls were seen as troublemakers, “bad girls” who were committed to the Home to be, as the media and public saw it, justifiably punished. No one believed their claims that they were being abused by staff.

Discussion Point: This leads us to the author’s second challenge – deciding what age to make the main character, Ellen. The book is based on the author’s personal experience, but although she did not fall pregnant, she was nevertheless charged with being “exposed to moral danger” at the Children’s Court, Sydney, and sentenced to Parramatta Girls’ Home for 6-9 months (the final length of the sentence was dependent on her behavior while incarcerated.) At the time she was over the age of consent: 16. She had to decide if making Ellen 16 was more controversial. At 16 she was by law over the age of consent. Was the court wrong to incarcerate her for living with her boyfriend and having sex? Why was the court able to make that decision, even though she was the acceptable age of consent? In two more years she would have been 18 and considered an adult. So those two years between the age of 16 and 18 were a “grey area” in law that the authorities took advantage of to lock up girls who were considered a “nuisance” or “at risk”. Even though those girls felt ready for some independence. Girls, like the author, whose perceived “rebellious behavior” was causing headaches for her parents. It is hard to imagine the social principles of that time. There was a social and sexual revolution taking place that people of her parents’ generation could not relate to. People of their generation brought with them into the Sixties and Seventies the attitudes of the 1950s, an extremely conservative decade. It was difficult for both sides to understand or accept the differences in attitude. The changes felt sudden to the older generation, and to young people the changes were exciting and, in many ways, a natural post-war reaction and progression towards liberalism. For teenagers like Ellen, and the author, who were caught up in these extraordinary times, it could have gone either way. Some of the author’s contemporaries, for example, were “sleeping around” with many different partners, yet were not arrested or detained in a violent environment for nine months. It was a huge social upheaval that the older generation found hard to accept, and it caused a lot of friction in families. There were psychological consequences for many, partly because of the older generation’s judgemental outlook, and society in general.