I just hope no one else would get into my situation

I’ve had multiple really bad experiences with 000 operators in Australia, and honestly it’s made me lose trust in the system.

Back in 2015, I was sexually assaulted outside my home. A man grabbed me and tried to rape me. My English wasn’t very good at the time, so when I called 000 I said the man “hugged” me. The operator literally laughed and said a hug isn’t a crime. No attempt to clarify, no interpreter offered, nothing. I was new to the country, scared, and didn’t know how to explain it properly, so I just gave up and didn’t continue the report.

Fast forward to now, and I feel like nothing has changed.

Recently I called 000 again because I felt unsafe—someone was banging on my door, and this person had previously threatened me. Instead of taking it seriously, I was basically told it’s not a crime because I’m renting, and since they didn’t threaten me this time, I don’t have a reason to feel unsafe. Another operator acted like I was imagining things or being irrational.

What really frustrated me is that they kept focusing on small inconsistencies in how I spoke instead of actually trying to understand the situation. English is my second language—when I’m scared or stressed, of course I’m not going to explain things perfectly. That doesn’t mean I’m lying or that my situation isn’t serious.

The whole experience felt dismissive and honestly a bit dehumanising. Like they had already decided I wasn’t credible.

At this point, I genuinely feel like a second-class citizen. Like my feelings don’t matter and what I say isn’t believed. It’s gotten to the point where I feel like if something serious actually happened to me, no one would take it seriously anyway. That thought alone is really distressing.

I don’t think this is just about individual operators—it feels like a bigger issue with lack of training, especially when it comes to dealing with non-native English speakers. If people can’t communicate perfectly under stress, they just get dismissed. That’s dangerous.

No one should feel discouraged from calling emergency services when they’re scared. But right now, I honestly do.