Bravehearts Founder Hetty Johnston's Cry Finally Heard As Royal Commission Begins
By Daryl Passmore
A PHONE link-up today marks the start of the historic national inquiry into child sex abuse - and a personal triumph for one determined woman. As the six royal commissioners appointed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard begin planning how they will conduct one of the most wide-ranging investigations ever, Hetty Johnston - founder of Queensland-based child protection group Bravehearts - will allow herself a brief period of satisfaction and celebration. "I'm so excited. I feel like a giggly little girl," said the 53-year-old, who has waged a 16-year battle to give survivors a voice - and persuade the rest of the country to listen. "I feel vindicated. Sixteen years slogging away, beating the drum, being ignored ... it's amazing. I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I can see we will actually achieve what we set out to achieve when my husband (Ian) and I started this whole campaign." It's been a long, and often lonely, fight that has led to her at various times being venerated and vilified. Along the way, she's changed laws to keep dangerous pedophiles behind bars and driven a governor-general to resign over his failure to confront abuse within the church. But, ultimately, this is what it was all about - allowing past survivors to be heard so that potential victims could be warned. Mrs Johnston was a former businesswoman and Queensland state leader of the Australian Democrats with ambitions for a federal seat when her life changed dramatically and permanently one day in 1996. During a trip with Mr Johnston to his native New Zealand, a close family member revealed they had been molested by another relative since they were three years of age. It turned out the child was one of at least nine family members who had been sexually assaulted by the perpetrator over many years. Through her rage, Mrs Johnston could see one thing very clearly: It was the shroud of silence, secrecy and shame that enabled sexual abusers to continue. "We tried to get help but there was not one agency in this country dedicated to helping sexually assaulted children." So they decided to put their money, time, skills and - most of all passion - into changing that. "We had to break the silence. Back then no one wanted to talk about child sexual assault and no one wanted to hear about it. The 'yuck' factor was off the scale." In 1997, Mrs Johnston organised the first annual White Balloon Day - now a national event - in Brisbane's King George Square and grabbed the first of many headlines with a call for castration to be considered for convicted pedophiles. The People's Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse - the forerunner to Bravehearts - was founded in 2000. Today, the organisation employs 50 people in 10 offices in four states. Mrs Johnston estimates that over the years, they have provided face-to-face support to 250,000 child sexual assault survivors. In 2001, she was propelled onto the national stage when she spearheaded a campaign to force then-governor-general Peter Hollingworth to resign after court revelations that he had failed to act despite being aware of allegations of abuse at an Anglican school when he was Archbishop of Brisbane. Then-prime minister John Howard, who had appointed Dr Hollingworth, rejected a push for a broad inquiry at that time but Mrs Johnston says the episode was an important milestone in raising public debate over the issues. Bipartisan support for the current royal commission will ensure that real change results. "I've never really been this excited or this hopeful before," she said. But Mrs Johnston is also acutely aware that a challenging new chapter is about to open. "I know that the Australian community is going to be shocked. I'm shocked every day when I hear what I hear. "The extent of child sexual assault in the community is staggering. One in five children are sexually assaulted in Australia before they turn 18. - 59,000 children every year. "It's going to be very traumatic for an incredible number of people but also very invigorating in that finally, their testimony is going to mean something. It's going to stop other children from being sexually assaulted and that is genuinely more important to survivors than anything. "Silence, secrecy and shame - if we change that, we change everything."
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