Paul Nylander was much loved as a GP, caring for thousands of patients during his almost 32-year career. But he carried a burden that ultimately led to him having to give up the job he loved.
Dr Nylander was repeatedly sexually abused when he was aged nine to 13 by a serial paedophile he met through a childhood friend.
That is why when some Tasmanian government ministers groaned in parliament while Opposition Leader Rebecca White asked a question on behalf of child sexual abuse survivor Tiffany Skeggs, it hit him hard.
One of the MPs identified as groaning in parliament, Attorney-General Elise Archer, is his sister.
"I was just so terribly offended and annoyed that someone I grew up with, and someone who I assumed got into politics to make a difference, would actually do something so unhelpful for a cause that I really believe in, and obviously a lot of other people really believe in, and that she says she believes in," Dr Nylander said.
He described his relationship with Ms Archer as civil but distant.
Ms Archer was one of three ministers to apologise for the offence caused by the behaviour in parliament.
Education Minister Roger Jaensch, identified in Hansard, apologised the next day, and Ms Archer and Michael Ferguson – who has since become Deputy Premier – apologised two weeks later.
Then-premier Peter Gutwein also apologised on behalf of the government on the day it happened.
Dr Nylander said the time it took Ms Archer and Mr Ferguson to apologise caused further harm.
"It undermines any support [survivors] might get in the community," he said.
He said Ms Archer should resign as Attorney-General, and that Mr Ferguson should not be Deputy Premier.
The groaning came after a Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian government's responses to child sexual abuse began earlier this year.
A government spokesman said: "As the Attorney-General and Deputy Premier said in parliament, we are sorry for the impact this has had."
Ms Archer said: "We all have our personal motivations in supporting the Commission of Inquiry, but I will not be discussing personal family matters publicly."
Survivors 'need support'
Dr Nylander was also troubled by some comments made on social media that he said amounted to a character assassination of former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, a survivor of child sexual abuse and an advocate for the survivor community.
"She's said a lot of things that have helped a lot of people and now she's being kicked while she's down when actually she needs a bit more support," Dr Nylander said.
He would also like to see better support for survivors — an expansion of the National Redress Scheme, which applies to survivors of institutional abuse, and changes to Tasmania's victims of crime compensation scheme so that people who were victims of crime before the scheme came into effect in 1976 could receive compensation.
In terms of the amount paid, Dr Nylander said it should be enough to fund the treatment a survivor needs so that they can function in society – something he said would be costly, but necessary.
A government spokesman said they would "always consider feedback on ways to better support victim-survivors".
He said the Attorney-General had made changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1976.
"This means victim-survivors can seek greater financial support as a result of trauma or injuries suffered in non-government or institutional settings, easing any financial burdens during what is no doubt an extremely difficult and vulnerable time in their lives," he said.
Dr Nylander, now almost 60, knows how important treatment is.
"For a lot of years I repressed what had happened to me," he said. "I was unaware I had a problem until it hit me at about 42."
He has been receiving psychiatric and psychological care since that time, but it has only been in the past two years that he started being treated for childhood trauma from the sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"There's probably not a minute of any day that I don't feel a symptom.
"It's often anxiety … when you do get taken back, you get those feelings of anxiety, which are quite overwhelming."
"I don't regret taking the path I did, but I do regret not getting treatment sooner."
'He worked very hard for his patients'
Dr Nylander retired early, partly because of his mental health and partly because of spinal injuries he said came from excessive exercise and farm work.
Despite a successful and rewarding career, Dr Nylander said the abuse he experienced meant he did not achieve his potential in medicine.
"I don't regret taking the path I did, but I do regret not getting treatment sooner for PTSD," he said.
It was not until after his mental health started to deteriorate that he told his wife of 35 years, Lisa, of the abuse.
The two share a strong bond, having helped each other through difficult times, and Dr Nylander said his wife was his greatest, and currently only, support.
She said her husband had been a much-loved and well-respected GP, including at Sorell where he worked for 20 years, and was a managing partner for much of that time.
"He worked very hard for his patients," she said.
"A lot of people would come up to me in the supermarket and tell me how kind he was and gentle and caring."
Dr Nylander hopes his speaking out will help others.
"I don't want other people to have the things that have happened to me in my life happen to them," he said.
