In sentencing the man, the judge described the situation as "consensual but inappropriate".

At first, Ms Sallese did not reflect upon it too much, given the enormity of the journey she had gone through. But she started to see the word "consensual" appear more and more in similar cases.

"There were a lot of cases that were being labelled 'consensual'," she said.

"I just don't understand how, if you're a child, you can consent. You can't vote, you can't buy alcohol, you can't do anything an adult does, so I find the term consensual really offensive, and 'maintaining a sexual relationship with a minor' offensive as well.

"We've got these people that are representing the justice system with this really warped way of looking at things, and it is really offensive frankly.

"That's forever going to be what was said about my case as a 16-year-old."

The issue of the use of "consent" in child abuse matters has been examined in the Commission of Inquiry in the past two days. While consent cannot be used as a defence in court - apart from in rape cases - it can still be mentioned in sentencing remarks.

Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates SC said judges should simply avoid using the term when sentencing people in child abuse matters, and instead just describe the unlawful acts that occurred - like with any sentencing.

It would have left victims, like Ms Sallese, without the added burden of feeling like they were somehow to blame.

"It's like we shoulder the blame of that by saying that we've had a part in that relationship, where we've been groomed, we've been repeatedly sexually abused by someone in a position of power," she said.

"We're already blaming and shaming ourselves, we don't need a description such as that adding to our trauma."

Ms Sallese was full of praise for the way in which police handled her case and her evidence, but problems occurred at the DPP stage.

Even with her abuser admitting to the crime, she was required to retell her evidence to prosecutors multiple times.

"The way in which I was interviewed and re-interviewed and had to reiterate and asked in different ways, how, why, when, over and over in different ways. I'm already traumatised, it's retraumatising to have to go through the same information," Ms Sallese said.

"Everything has to be dotted and crossed, I get that.

"But when you're dealing with someone who has experienced trauma, who has an active case of complex PTSD, I don't think their approach was particularly kind or understanding of victim-survivors basically."

She believed a specialist or counsellor should be included in the DPP process to assist victim-survivors during this phase.

During the Commission of Inquiry, a suggestion was made that Tasmania should look to use prerecorded evidence to avoid the retelling of traumatic details.

The charge that Ms Sallese's abuser was sentenced on - maintaining a sexual relationship with a minor - has now been renamed penetrative sexual abuse of a child or young person.

The government plans to amend the Criminal Code for a presumption that children under 17 cannot consent to sexual intercourse with a person in authority over them. A new charge will also be introduced for people in authority who fail to protect a child from the risk of sexual abuse in their organisation.

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Despite the mental toll it took, Ms Sallese said she was happy she went to police when in her 40s to get justice.

"I was really happy that my abuser got convicted," she said.

"It's a shame that they don't get the sentence that we get - the lifelong sentence of that legacy that they've left us with - it's a shame that they don't get punished like we do.

"It's really important to me that what he did to me was labelled a crime."