The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gave harrowing testimony to Queensland's child safety inquiry, which resumed in Toowoomba on Monday.
The first witness called during the latest hearings said she was five when she first came into contact with the state's child safety department after telling authorities she had been abused at home.
She was removed to live with her grandmother, only to suffer more emotional and physical abuse.
"One time, she bit me on my arm so hard I actually still have the scar," the commission heard.
After years of abuse, the woman said she had enough and became homeless, living at a bus interchange.
Child safety officers failed to find her a place in care.
They would let her charge her phone in the office during business hours but threatened to call the police if she stayed too long, the inquiry heard.
With no home, no carer and no money, the victim turned to a life of "survival crime".
"I remember stealing Rice Bubbles and milk and disposable bowls one day so that the other kids that were homeless and I could have breakfast," she said.
She also stole shoes and clothing - including her first bra - before being arrested for sleeping in a public toilet.
"I was criminalised for the state's failure to intervene and provide me with a safe placement with access to food and basic amenities," she said.
After struggling to reach year nine, she gave up school and was in and out of residential care, seeking escape in drugs and prostituting herself for food, cash and a place to sleep.
"I felt hopeless and as if I had no future," she said.
She was eventually placed in a facility, where she said she experienced further abuse.
"My earlier offending was always viewed as survival, then later viewed as reckless and criminal," she said.
"But the reality is, it was all survival, and every kid in resi is just kind of surviving the system that they've been put into.
"Residential care is not a place for any child."
Years after leaving care, the victim was able to request her child safety records, which made for confronting reading.
"What struck me is a number of times child safety were made aware of my circumstances but failed to intervene," she said.
"In my experience, I would always prefer the abuse I experienced by my parents than what the system did to me."
The probe into Queensland child safety system failures began in 2025 with public hearings across the state.
The tranche of hearings at Toowoomba over two weeks focuses on the link between out-of-home care and the youth justice system.
The inquiry is led by former Federal Court judge Paul Anastassiou KC, with final recommendations due by November.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
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