IT’S difficult to think of someone more deserving of an appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) than Professor Caroline Taylor.Professor Taylor is widely regarded as an expert in the field of sexual violence, child abuse and domestic violence, the criminal justice response to survivors, and social models of trauma and recovery.Herself a victim of long-term sexual abuse, Professor Taylor was pulled out of school at year 9 but went on to support herself throughout university and complete a PhD for which she received the prestigious Jean Martin Award from The Australian Sociological Association for the most outstanding PhD in social sciences.Professor Taylor has worked tirelessly to provide support to children, adolescents and adults affected by childhood sexual abuse.In 2004, she founded a charity organisation, Children of Phoenix, which provides education and training scholarships to survivors of sexual assault.She has also written several books and journal articles, and her work and advocacy has helped support law reform in a number of Australian jurisdictions.Professor Taylor provides specialist evidence in child abuse cases and sexual offence proceedings, and works with police across the country to improve their response, investigation and management of sexual offences.She also works with international bodies such as the United Nations and Interpol. She hopes her appointment as AM will bring greater support to survivors of sexual and domestic abuse.“I’m very humbled, I really am, but my greatest hope is that it helps profile the issue better,” she said.