This week on The Hair Therapist, Mel sits down with Deborah Mason - survivor, mother, artist and advocate - to share one of the most confronting and important conversations ever recorded on this podcast.
Deb’s childhood was marked by sexual abuse, violence and abandonment, followed by her admission at just sixteen to Wolston Park Hospital and later Osler House, where she endured sexual assault, chemical restraint and the loss of basic human dignity. Her teenage years were taken from her by systems that were meant to protect her.
But Deb’s story is not only about what happened to her. It is about the woman she became despite it.
Today, she is restoring the identities of thousands of people who died inside Wolston Park and were buried under institutional numbers. Her research has already uncovered more than 4,500 names, giving dignity back to people forgotten for decades.
In this episode, Deb speaks openly about her childhood, her time inside Wolston Park, the loss of her friends, homelessness, addiction, motherhood, and the extraordinary advocacy work she is doing now, work that has led to her nomination for Australian of the Year 2027.
This conversation includes detailed discussions of childhood sexual abuse, rape, institutional abuse, suicide, violence, overdose, addiction, child loss and severe trauma. Please listen with care.
Deb’s courage reminds us that behind every diagnosis, file and number is a human being who deserved safety, dignity and love. And to anyone listening who carries trauma from an institution, a family or a system that failed them, this episode is for you.
You are seen.
You are heard.
On behalf of the Hair Therapist we acknowledge the Turrbal and Jagera people, the traditional custodians of the land on which this podcast is produced.
The topics in this podcast are of general nature, we are not licensed professionals, so if any of the content brings up anything for you, please turn it off and reach out for support:
Lifeline Australia - 13 11 14 - Crisis Support. Suicide Prevention.
13YARN - Call 13 92 76 | 24 /7 Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
Home | 1800RESPECT National Domestic and Sexual Violence Counselling Service
Kids Helpline | Phone Counselling Service | 1800 55 1800
Ask Izzy Search over 450,000 support services
CREDITS:
Host: Melissa Alsemgeest
Guest: Deborah Mason
Editor: Robert Alsemgeest
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