Abuse survivor Grace Tame gives Australian victims a voice

After being silenced by an archaic gag law that stops sexual assault victims from speaking out, Grace Tame found an unwavering voice, named Australian of the Year for 2021.

2021 Australian of the Year: Grace Tame. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

As she joined the legion of the ­nation’s finest doctors, scientists, sports people, entertainers and thinkers who have been named Australian of the Year, Grace Tame humbly and movingly thanked her ­fellow survivors.

The 26-year-old Tasmanian, the first from her state to win the award in its 60-year history, was recognised for her outspoken ­advocacy for sexual assault survivors after she bravely and successfully fought to overturn legislation that ­prevented her from telling her harrowing story.

As a teenager, Ms Tame was groomed and raped by her 58-year-old maths teacher. Confronted by an archaic gag law that stopped sexual assault victims from speaking out, Ms Tame found an unwavering voice and raised public awareness about the impact of sexual violence.

Sharing the stage with Ms Tame on Monday night were ­Aboriginal activist, educator and artist Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann, who was named Senior Australian of the Year; social entrepreneur Isobel Marshall, who was named Young Australian of the Year; and advocate for migrant women and refugees Rosemary Kariuki, Australia’s Local Hero.

It was the second all-female awards line-up since 2015.

Ms Tame said the decision to award Australian of the Year to a victim of child sexual abuse would help others who had experienced sexual violence know they had the support of the public.

“It is not our fault. We are not alone. We are believed and our voices are necessary to inform change,” Ms Tame told The Australian on Monday.

“The symbolism of recognising a survivor of rape, a survivor of child sexual abuse, in this way — you’re inviting us to stand alongside some of the nation’s most ­respected and accomplished people, to break down the shame.”

Accepting the award, Ms Tame said: “I remember him saying, ‘Don’t make a sound’. Well, hear me now, using my voice, amongst a growing chorus of voices that will not be silenced.”

Past winners of the Australian of the Year award include opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland, boxer Lionel Rose, author Patrick White, historian Manning Clark, cricketer Alan Border and psychiatrist Patrick McGorry.

While Ms Tame is now recognised all across Tasmania as a prominent advocate for victims of sexual abuse, for almost a decade she was banned from speaking out and publicly identifying herself as a sexual assault survivor. After telling the police that she had been sexually abused by her high school maths teacher, Nicolaas Bester was convicted and sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison.

While Bester was found guilty and jailed for his crimes, in a perverse quirk of the Tasmanian legal system Ms Tame was legally prevented from being named as the victim or telling her story, despite the perpetrator and media being free to do so.

The gag law was finally amended last March following the #LetHerSpeak campaign in partnership with News Corp’s Hobart Mercury and news.com.au, Marque Lawyers and End Rape on Campus Australia, spearheaded by journalist and anti-sexual assault advocate Nina Funnell.

Ms Funnell said everyone involved with the project was extremely proud of Ms Tame.

She said it had been an honour to help the now 26-year-old, and that by changing four laws in three jurisdictions restricting survivors’ ability to share their experiences so far, the campaign had already helped countless individuals recover from their trauma.

“We know that there are lots of stories out there that have never been heard and never been told. And we know that it’s still not safe for everybody to tell those stories. But this award lets those survivors, who have never told a single soul about what’s happened to them, know that they deserve to be believed, that it’s not their fault, and that there is support out there,” she said.

Scott Morrison said the nominees for the awards gave Australians a glimpse of what they could aspire to be.