Grace Tame talks about child sex abuse at Australian Press Club

Australian of the Year Grace Tame has delivered a powerful speech, calling for stronger laws against paedophiles and better education for parents.

Australian of the Year Grace Tame has addressed the National Press Club, using the public platform to call for a nationalised approach on sex abuse and consent and warn adults on the dangers of grooming.

The 26-year-old was 15 when she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her 58-year-old teacher, and she rose to prominence via News Corp’s #LetHerSpeak campaign which, in 2019, took her legal case to be able to publicly self-identify as a rape survivor to the Supreme Court of Tasmania, and won.

Ms Tame’s powerful speech was felt deeply by a lot of people attending the Press Club, with host and journalist Emma Macdonald tearing up as she thanked the 26-year-old for her speech.

A number of female journalists also fought back tears as they asked her questions.

Grace Tame’s story is so powerful but so too is listening to the voices of the female journalists in the room crack with emotion upon hearing her tell it. Every woman feels this deeply. We are tired and we are angry and so many are traumatised. This has to be a turning point.

— Jill Stark (@jillastark) March 3, 2021

Speaking to the Press Club, Ms Tame said she had been inundated with stories from fellow child sexual abuse survivors since winning Australian of the Year and she wouldn’t stop until child sex abuse was eradicated.

“I am one of the luckiest ones. Who survived, who was believed, who was surrounded by love,” she said.

“And what this shows me is that despite this problem still existing, and despite a personal history of trauma that is still ongoing, it is possible to heal, to thrive, and live a wonderful life.

“It is my mission and my duty as a survivor and as a survivor with a voice to continue working towards eradicating child sexual abuse.

“I won’t stop until it does.”

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Grace Tame at the National Press Club. Picture: Sky News

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In addition to calling for a national framework on consent – instead of different definitions for each state and territory – Ms Tame is also calling for better education for children on the dangers or complexities of grooming.

Ms Tame said there are six grooming red flags that Australians can’t afford to ignore.

The first was “targeting”, with the 26-year-old claiming abusers tended to prey upon “a vulnerable individual” – in her case, when she was an “innocent child” battling anorexia while experiencing “significant change happening at home”.

The next warning sign is “gaining trust” – “establishing a friendship and falsely lulling the target into a sense of security, by empathising and assuring safety”.

Number three is “filling a need”, or playing the role of a person that “fills the gap in a target’s mental and emotional support”.

The fourth red flag was “isolating” and “driving wedges between the target and their genuine supporters”.

Number five is sexualising by “gradually introducing sexual content to normalise it”.

And the final warning was “maintaining control” – “that is, striking a perfect balance between causing pain and providing relief from that pain.”

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Ms Tame also took aim at the recent dialogue around sexual abuse in federal parliament over the past month.

Brittany Higgins, a former Liberal staffer, alleged she was raped by a colleague in the office of Defence Minister Linda Reynolds.

And last week, friends of a woman, who took her own life last year, alleges she was abused by an unnamed federal Cabinet Minister in the late 1980s.

Ms Tame said it was “unsurprising” the nation’s politicians had been ducking questions about both alleged assaults.

“It’s not surprising me to me at all. Cover-up culture, the abuse of power, is not unique to parliament,” she said.

“So it’s not necessarily these individual cases.

“It’s the issue itself that is going to keep inspiring me to do this work. I was doing this work before it dominated the national stage.

“You know, and it is heightened right now, because it’s happening in the centre of our country, in parliament, but like I said it’s not unique to parliament. It happens everywhere.”

Summing up her speech, Ms Tame delivered three key messages to the Australians listening.

“Number one, to our government – our decision-makers, and our policymakers – we need reform on a national scale,” she said.

“Both in policy and education. To address these heinous crimes so they are no longer enabled to be perpetrated.

“Number two, to my nation, the wonderful people of Australia – we need to be open, to embrace the conversation, new information, and take guidance from our experiences so we can inform change so we can heal and prevent this happening to future generations.

“Number three, and finally, to my fellow survivors – it is our time. We need to take this opportunity. We need to be bold and courageous. Recognise that we have a platform on which I stand with you in solidarity and support.

“Share your truth. It is your power. One voice, your voice, and our collective voices can make a difference.

“We are on the precipice of a revolution whose call to action needs to be heard loud and clear. That’s right. You got it. Let’s keep making noise, Australia.”