The problems that can be fixed by money are amongst the easiest. Those that can be fixed by legislative change are easier again. Those that require a change of heart are the hardest!

The marginalia refers to the handwritten notes in the margins of books. These constitute the footnotes to a narrative that are otherwise forgotten and excluded from the historical record. Too often it seems that victim-survivors are viewed as incidental to the affairs of the State. Among the most vulnerable in any community, those susceptible to sexual predation, are the last to be considered by ‘establishment’ figures.

The victim-survivors of child sexual abuse in Tasmania need a Parliament that will soften its heart and go on the long and arduous journey to address the culture in our civil institutions that has permitted wholesale abuse of children over generations. Training is only ever a half-measure!

We need to acknowledge that state-sponsored child sexual abuse of children has been a feature of our polity since colonial days.

Key takeaway 1:  The tolerance of CSA in Tasmania is arguably a colonial hangover!

Key takeaway 2:  Addressing CSA in Tasmania is less about legislation and more about the moral and political leadership that will see a change in cultural attitudes.

Key takeaway 3:  The current political establishment has presided over the existing culture and so is unlikely to be able to change it.