Finally justice trumps wealth and power

George Pell departs the Supreme Court of Victoria. Picture: AAP

At last the voices of victims are not only being heard but believed.

The decision by the Court of Appeal marks the beginning of a cultural shift where child sexual offenders can no longer rely on money, power or privilege to hide from the scales of justice.

I can only imagine the enormous pressure the justices must have been under — a weight so many of their colleagues past and present would know — but they have withstood it to stand alongside the jury that heard the evidence first-hand, including from the remaining victim, and declare that George Pell was guilty of child sexual assault beyond reasonable doubt.

Importantly, the justices have also handed hope to survivors of child sexual abuse across the nation.

It is a devastating reality that only about 3 per cent of child sexual assaults result in conviction and incarceration, and that is because the judicial process is almost always a battle between a manipulative sex offender and a very frightened, disempowered child.

With typically no witnesses and the assault usually entirely premeditated by the offender, it is a crime that is so difficult to prove, and that is why the voices of victims are so important.

Pell’s conviction marks a turning point in how the system understands and responds to allegations of child sexual assault, and we have already seen it encourage other victims to come forward.

On such a historic day as yesterday, we need to congratulate the Court of Appeal and thank the hardworking men and women of Victoria Police and the Office of Public Prosecutions.

We need to recognise this is not about the good people of the Catholic Church. It is about child sex ­offenders who hide in the Catholic Church, just as they do in other ­institutions and organisations.

We need to acknowledge the pain and suffering this news will ignite in thousands of child sexual assault survivors across the country. Finally and fittingly, we need to remember the many victims who are no longer with us while paying tribute to another for having the strength to come forward.

That decision would have taken courage of the highest order, but in doing so he has helped prove that times have changed and that victims of child sexual assault can get what they’ve always wanted — to be heard, to be believed and to have justice.

Hetty Johnston is the founder of Bravehearts.