Harrison James says it is an "absolutely horrific" experience to hear good character references about paedophiles.
An advocate and survivor himself, he has supported victim-survivors while they sit and hear how people have spoken about their perpetrators in a positive way.
"Let me be unequivocally clear, good character is a facade wielded by paedophiles to conceal their heinous crimes," Mr James said.
"It is a tool of manipulation, a smokescreen that obscures the truth and shield perpetrators from accountability."
Mr James has been leading the Your Reference Ain't Relevant campaign, with fellow survivor Jarad Grice, to stop good character references for convicted child sex offenders.
Their campaign was brought to the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday with a petition presented.
The petition received 567 signatures.
A character reference can be taken into account by a magistrate when determining a sentence for a person convicted of a crime.
The option for a good character reference is not available to some convicted paedophiles such as teachers and religious leaders but can be used by others, including relatives and family friends.
The campaign's ACT spokesman Josh Byrnes said providing good character references failed to take into account vulnerable children.
"Allowing information pertaining to the pro-social and worthwhile activities of abusers might seem to enact that sense of balance to some, but to us and the many supporters of this campaign this is an outdated, archaic and tone deaf stance," he said.
The petition was sponsored by Greens backbencher Andrew Braddock.
"Allowing convicted child sexual abusers to utilise 'good-character references' during sentencing rewards the very strategies perpetrators exploit to gain access to children," he said.
The ACT Bar Association has spoken out against the proposal, saying "evidence of prior pro-social conduct of an offender is relevant to the sentencing exercise"
"Sentencing is a nuanced, multi-factorial exercise. One of the factors to which ACT courts are obliged to have regard, and properly so, is the 'character, antecedents, age and physical or mental condition of the offender', the association said in a statement.
"A blanket prohibition on the receipt of evidence of 'character' of an offender is antithetical to principles of proportionality and balance in the sentencing process."
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Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Men's Referral Service 1300 776 491; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
