Grace Tame is the symbol of Australian women’s collective conscious Words by Ruby Lehmann This is a quick trigger warning; this piece discusses sexual abuse and online trolling stories. On the 25th of January 2021 Australian of the year, Grace Tame made headlines after a photo of her, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison caught the nation’s attention for many reasons. Tame and her fiancé had been invited to the Lodge in Canberra to celebrate the 2022 Australian of the Year finalists when a photo-op was organised. The photo shows a sullen-faced Tame next to a grinning Morrison thus sparking a wildfire of backlash towards Tame. The public was seemingly divided over their opinions. Many praised Tame for standing her ground, overshadowed by others expressing their criticism. Online she was called ungrateful, disrespectful, and childish, the last being the cruellest considering her childhood had been tainted by sexual abuse. Some had the audacity to say she did not deserve the accolade, going as far as saying it should be taken away from her due to her ‘impolite’ actions. Imagine? One of the highest honours and recognitions taken away from you because you didn’t smile in a two-minute photo-op. I can guarantee; there would be no chance of this outcry if Tame had been a man… 38
Grace won the Australian of the Year award in 2021 due to her tireless work and advocacy for survivors of sexual assault, particularly survivors of child sexual abuse in institutional settings. At just 15 years old, Tame was groomed and repeatedly sexually assaulted by her 58-year-old math teacher. Gag laws in Tasmania at the time silenced her from speaking out about her assault and perpetrator openly. At the same time, he instead was free to publicly describe his crimes as ‘awesome’ and ‘enviable.” Tame went to the Tasmanian Supreme court to fight for her right to tell her story, heavily assisted by the #LetHerSpeak campaign that led to the reform of gag laws in Tasmania. She has since, bravely led incredible work, using her public voice to speak up and push for legal reform regarding child sexual abuse and raise awareness surrounding the impacts. Over the last twelve months, Tame has poured countless hours into bringing structural change to end child sexual abuse, re-traumatising herself repeatedly, opening herself up to public discourse and attacks, and most of the
