Editorial: Time to let her speak

The unintended consequence of Section 194k of the Tasmanian Evidence Act has been to rob sexual abuse victims, such as Grace Tame, of their voice.

Tasmanian Grace Tame has won the right to release her name and speak about sexual abuse. Picture: PATRICK GEE

GRACE Tame’s account of her sexual abuse in today’s Mercury is difficult, but important reading. Regular readers of this newspaper will already be familiar with one side of this story — we have covered the court hearings in detail over the years as her abuser was dealt with by the criminal law. Indeed articles published by this newspaper saw Ms Tame’s abuser jailed a second time for gloating about his evil misdeeds. But the law has also prevented Grace Tame from telling her side of the story.

Section 194k of the Tasmanian Evidence Act prevents the media from publishing any information which might identify the victims of sex offences. While the intention behind the law at the time it was enacted was no doubt to protect the victims from further trauma. But the unintended consequence has been to rob the victims of their voice. In the era of #metoo, the law as it stands is paternalistic and overdue for change.

The need for reform has long been evident. This newspaper has campaigned for changes to section 194k, as it has for changes to the Electoral Act and bail laws as far as they restrict people’s right to know. The Law Reform Institute has conducted two inquiries into section 194k and two attorney’s general have been lobbied. The Let Her Speak campaign has set out in abundantly clear and irresistible terms the case for change. The state government has so far not acted.

These much-needed reforms are being pursued for the benefit of media organisations, but for survivors. Not every survivor will want to tell their story in public in the way that Grace Tame does today. The law should always put survivor consent at the heart of any reforms. But where people want to tell their stories, they have a right not only to speak — but to be heard. It should not be a matter for the law or for a lengthy process before a Supreme Court judge. Not only is this a process many cannot afford, but it puts survivors in front of the court in the same way as the perpetrators. In Grace Tame’s case, it has taken two years, and $10,000 to gain the right to finally tell her story. It should not be that hard.

In a similar situation is the woman who, in 1993 in Burnie. was held at knifepoint, bashed and gang-raped, before being taken to dig her own grave. In April last year, she eloquently spelt out the case on behalf of many.

“As a survivor, I should have the right to tell my story with my name,” she said. “Without my name and face, it’s not my story, it’s just my words. You need a name and a face. Every survivor deserves that. It’s an injustice not to allow us our names.”

Survivor advocate Steve Fisher is another who has had to fight the law in order the be allowed to speak about what he went through.

“The process was really stressful. I had to write out a whole statement about why I wanted to speak. It was a really, really complicated process … it’s another thing you don’t want to go through.”

Grace Tame’s story reveals the inner toughness which has sustained her through the past nine years. There is no good reason why she has had to wait so long to tell her story. It is time that she and other victims were given that right. It is time to Let Her Speak.