Mates Harrison James and Jarad Grice are on a mission to scrap good-character references for convicted paedophiles

Two mates – bonded by their stories of horror in their youth – are turning their painful pasts into a campaign for legislative change. Key points: The Your Reference Ain't Relevant campaign is calling to stop paedophiles using good-character references Campaign founder Harrison James says you can't be a convicted paedophile and have a good character ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury says the petition is an important way of bringing public attention to the issue They are calling on the ACT government to remove the provision for good-character references when sentencing convicted paedophiles. "She would tell me things like 'I love you' or 'we can run away together'," Mr James said. Fellow advocate also suffered poor mental health Your Reference Ain't Relevant campaign founder Jarad Grice says he was made to feel complicit in his abuse, leading to him keeping it a secret. "You can't be a paedophile and a good character, it doesn't add up," Mr James said.