Advocate Grace Tame Named Australian Of The Year

Grace Tame, a sexual assault survivor and advocate, has been named the Australian of the Year 2021. Two years ago, Tame won a supreme court exemption in Tasmania which allowed her to talk about how, as a 15-year-old, she was sexually abused by her 58-year-old maths teacher. Tame was reportedly raped by her teacher at a private girls' school in Hobart. Since then, she has been speaking out about the traumatic experience.

The accused was convicted and jailed for molesting her and Tame’s case became a catalyst for the #LetHerSpeak campaign which changed Tasmania's Evidence Act in 2020, allowing survivors in the state to speak out about facing abuse publicly. “The shame sits at the feet of perpetrators of child sexual abuse,” Tame told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Tasmania’s Evidence Act prevented survivors from speaking about their experiences. “We have to eradicate these cultures of victim-blaming and denial and dismissal, because there are so many structures in our society, both in terms of social attitudes and institutions, that enable predatory behaviour," Tame said on the need to get rid of the act.

Following her successful exemption, the laws were changed and Tame got a tattoo that read “Eat my fear” on her back, a message she says is about "swallowing the terror and moving forward regardless."