Tasmanian sex assault survivor Grace Tame finally allowed to tell her story

She's now married to a Hollywood actor but as a child this brave woman was the victim of shocking abuse at a prestigious Australian girls' school. Her nightmare ordeal triggered a movement to change laws in two states.  This is her story. WARNING: Distressing content.

Grace Tame — the woman at the centre of the #LetHerSpeak campaign for sexual assault gag-law reform — has won her fight to be named through the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

The decision follows a two-year campaign during which she has only been known publicly as “Jane Doe”.

Tasmanian Grace Tame was the first person involved in the #Letherspeak campaign and has won the right to release her name and speak about sexual abuse. Picture: PATRICK GEE

Under existing legislation, it is an offence for any sexual assault victim in Tasmania or the Northern Territory to self-identify in media, unless a court makes a special exemption order. Journalists who name sexual assault survivors in these jurisdictions — even with their consent — can face up to six months imprisonment or large fines.

HOW GRACE TAME’S SEXUAL ABUSE UNFOLDED AND HOW SHE BROKE OUT

In August, Ms Tame becomes only the fourth sexual assault survivor in Tasmania to ever be granted a court order, allowing her to speak out under her real identity.

“Getting my voice back has been so important for me,” Ms Tame said.

“I want to help educate parents and other members of the community about the warning signs of grooming.

“If telling my story can help even one boy or girl out there and prevent them from being abused, then this fight has all been worth it.”

In 2010, at age 15, Ms Tame was groomed and repeatedly sexually assaulted by her then 58-year-old maths teacher, Nicolaas Ockert Bester, while attending the elite St Michael’s Collegiate school for girls in Hobart. In 2015, Bester reoffended by making child exploitation material, bragging online that the abuse of Ms Tame had been “awesome”, and that other men were “envious”.

Nicolaas Ockert Bester being lead from the Supreme court.

Both crimes have had a profound impact on Ms Tame and her family.

“It will take a lifetime to make sense of all the insidious grooming and abuse which took place. But I want other people to know the red flags because perpetrators don’t just groom victims: they groom the people around victims too,” Ms Tame said. “Sexual abuse survivors are uniquely positioned to offer insights into the calculated stages of grooming and abuse.”

In April this year, Tasmania’s Attorney-General Elise Archer released a discussion paper on the gag law — section 194K of the Evidence Act — and called for public submissions. More than 50 submissions were received by the Department of Justice.

“This is a complex area of law reform, so it is important the Government fully consider the information that has been provided,” Ms Archer said.

Attorney General Elise Archer in State Parliament in Hobart on Wednesday July 31, 2019.

Ms Tame, who is now married to American actor and musician Spencer Breslin, said that now she could speak in full, she intended to continue to campaign until the gag-law is reformed.

“The law is still in place and other survivors still can’t speak.

“The fight is far from over, but having come this far, I’m determined to stop at nothing,” she said.