Grace Tame
{{short description|Australian activist (born 1994)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Grace Tame
| image =
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|12|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| education = St Michael's Collegiate School
| alma_mater = Santa Barbara City College
| occupation = Artist and yoga teacher
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| known_for = Sexual assault survivor advocacy
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| spouse = {{marriage|Spencer Breslin|2017|2021|end=divorced}}
| partner = Max Heerey (2020–present; engaged)
| children =
| father = Michael Tame
| relatives =
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| awards = {{unbulletedlist|Tasmanian Australian of the Year (2020)|Australian of the Year (2021)}}
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Grace Tame (born 28 December 1994) is an Australian activist and advocate for survivors of sexual assault. Tame was named 2021 Australian of the Year on 25 January 2021.
Early life
Tame was born in Hobart in 1994. Her father is former Tasmanian cricketer Michael Tame, while her mother is former broadcaster Penny Tame.
Abuse and aftermath
Tame was a dual-scholarship holder at St Michael's Collegiate girls' school in Hobart, and had been diagnosed with anorexia in Year 10. Tame has stated that at age 15 she was groomed and then repeatedly sexually abused by her 58-year-old teacher, Nicolaas Bester. He was found in possession of child pornography.{{Cite news |agency=Australian Associated Press |date=2023-03-07 |title=Nicolaas Bester pleads not guilty to alleged online harassment of Grace Tame |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/07/nicolaas-bester-pleads-not-guilty-to-online-social-media-twitter-harassment-grace-tame |access-date=2023-11-22 |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |title='I lost everything': Predator teacher's 'disturbing' interview |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/courts-law/i-lost-everything-predator-teachers-disturbing-interview/news-story/c2ae11e76793290fb4f6b4fbb422bc62 |website=news.com.aus |access-date=22 November 2023 |archive-date=29 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829115617/https://www.news.com.au/national/courts-law/i-lost-everything-predator-teachers-disturbing-interview/news-story/c2ae11e76793290fb4f6b4fbb422bc62 |url-status=live }} Although the school was found to have had multiple opportunities to intervene, the abuse did not stop until 2011, when Tame reported her attacker. Bester was arrested and convicted of the offence of "maintaining a sexual relationship with someone under the age of 17", a crime, Tame argued, that needed to be renamed as in other jurisdictions, due to its misleading use of the word "relationship" for abuse. Bester was also sentenced for the aforementioned possession of child pornography.{{Cite web |title=Former Hobart teacher Nicolaas Bester to appeal jail sentence for Facebook comments |url=https://www.themercury.com.au/news/scales-of-justice/former-hobart-teacher-to-appeal-jail-sentence-for-facebook-comments/news-story/15996976ac4d05312674c2b4313b76a4 |website=Mercury |access-date=22 November 2023 |archive-date=17 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117030203/http://www.themercury.com.au/news/scales-of-justice/former-hobart-teacher-to-appeal-jail-sentence-for-facebook-comments/news-story/15996976ac4d05312674c2b4313b76a4 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title='I lost everything': Predator teacher's 'disturbing' interview |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/courts-law/i-lost-everything-predator-teachers-disturbing-interview/news-story/c2ae11e76793290fb4f6b4fbb422bc62 |website=news.com.aus |access-date=22 November 2023 |archive-date=29 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829115617/https://www.news.com.au/national/courts-law/i-lost-everything-predator-teachers-disturbing-interview/news-story/c2ae11e76793290fb4f6b4fbb422bc62 |url-status=live }} In sentencing Tame's abuser, Justice Helen Wood said Tame had been "particularly vulnerable given her mental state" and that her abuser "knew her psychological condition was precarious" and had "betrayed the trust of the child's parents and the school's trust in an utterly blatant fashion". At the time of the abuse, Tame had undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder.
In 2013, Tame dropped out of St Michael's Collegiate and later re-enrolled at a different high school. She then moved to the United States, where she graduated from Santa Barbara City College with degrees in theatre arts and liberal arts.
In 2017, social commentator Bettina Arndt conducted an interview with Tame's abuser claiming "sexually provocative behaviour from female students". Tame criticised Arndt for supporting her abuser, accusing her of "trivialising" and "laughing off" his crime, saying, "Not only is the interview disturbing because it gives a platform to a paedophile. It's not a truthful interview". Arndt did not seek out Tame for her side of the story, and published her name and photo without consent. Her abuser had spoken publicly about the case many times, but Tame was gagged by a Tasmanian law that prevents victims from revealing their identities to the media. He was subsequently jailed again for the production of child exploitation material, after describing online how he sexually abused Tame.
Advocacy
Tasmania's Evidence Act had prohibited the publication of information identifying survivors of sexual assault since 2001. In practice, this prevented Tame and other survivors from speaking publicly about their experiences, even as Tame's abuser bragged about his crimes on social media. Tame's case led to journalist and sexual assault survivor advocate Nina Funnell working alongside Tame to create a campaign called #LetHerSpeak, in partnership with Marque Lawyers and End Rape on Campus Australia, seeking to overturn this law and a similar law in the Northern Territory. The campaign attracted global support from celebrities including Alyssa Milano, Tara Moss and John Cleese, and from leaders of the MeToo movement. In August 2019, Tame spoke out for the first time after the campaign obtained a court order on her behalf through the Supreme Court of Tasmania winning Tame an exemption from the gag law. She was the first female sexual assault survivor in Tasmania to win a court order to speak about her experience.
In October 2019, in response to the #LetHerSpeak campaign led by Funnell and featuring Tame, Attorney-General of Tasmania Elise Archer announced that legislation would be amended to allow sexual assault survivors to publicly speak out. Archer also announced planned changes to the wording of the crime noting that "the word relationship has connotations of consent". In April 2020, the law was changed to allow Tasmanian survivors to speak out.
Tame has become an advocate for others, focusing on helping them understand grooming and psychological manipulation and breaking down the stigma associated with sexual assault. She has assisted the Los Angeles Human Trafficking Squad with understanding how child grooming works. Tame advocates education as a means of primary prevention of child sex abuse, rather than too heavily focusing on responses, which can "fuel the unconscious belief that child sexual abuse is just a fact of life that we have to accept in our society". Tame wants to eradicate victim blaming and normalise speaking out, and says greater consistency is needed between federal and state laws.
On 15 March 2021, Tame led the Women's March4Justice event in Hobart.
On 9 February 2022, Tame and former Liberal Party parliamentary staffer and alleged rape survivor Brittany Higgins gave an address at the National Press Club of Australia,{{cite web | title=Grace Tame & Brittany Higgins | website=National Press Club of Australia | url=https://www.npc.org.au/speaker/2022/957-grace-tame-brittany-higgins/ | access-date=10 February 2022 | archive-date=10 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210083241/https://www.npc.org.au/speaker/2022/957-grace-tame-brittany-higgins/ | url-status=dead }} which sold out quickly and garnered a huge amount of coverage in the press and on social media. In her talk, Tame revealed that a "senior member" of a government-funded organisation had phoned her and, she felt, in a threatening way, asked her not to criticise the Prime Minister in her outgoing Australian of the Year speech, in the light of the forthcoming election. Both women advocated strongly for structural change, saying the time for talking was past.{{cite web | last=Murphy | first=Katharine | title=Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins: nine key moments from the sellout press club event | website=The Guardian | date=9 February 2022 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/09/grace-tame-and-brittany-higgins-nine-key-moments-from-the-sellout-press-club-event | access-date=10 February 2022 | archive-date=10 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210010657/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/09/grace-tame-and-brittany-higgins-nine-key-moments-from-the-sellout-press-club-event | url-status=live }}{{cite web | last=Karvelas | first=Patricia | title=Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins are smashing rules and silence – and putting Australia's political leaders on notice | website=ABC News | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=9 February 2022 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-09/grace-tame-brittany-higgins-press-club-leaders-on-notice/100817220 | access-date=10 February 2022 | archive-date=10 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210002603/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-09/grace-tame-brittany-higgins-press-club-leaders-on-notice/100817220 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | last=Arrow | first=Michelle | title=Making change, making history, making noise: Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame at the National Press Club | website=The Conversation | date=9 February 2022 | url=http://theconversation.com/making-change-making-history-making-noise-brittany-higgins-and-grace-tame-at-the-national-press-club-176252 | access-date=10 February 2022 | archive-date=9 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209224319/https://theconversation.com/making-change-making-history-making-noise-brittany-higgins-and-grace-tame-at-the-national-press-club-176252 | url-status=live }}{{Cite web|date=3 March 2021|title=Australian of the Year Grace Tame's full National Press Club address|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJmwOTfjn9U|publisher=ABC News Australia|location=Canberra, ACT|website=YouTube|format=Video|access-date=13 March 2021|archive-date=10 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210102133/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJmwOTfjn9U|url-status=live}}
=Grace Tame Foundation=
In December 2021, Tame founded the Grace Tame Foundation which aims for cultural and structural change to eradicate sexual abuse of children. Tame, Michael Salter, Michael Bradley and Scarlett Franks are board directors for the foundation.{{cite web | title=The Board | website=The Grace Tame Foundation | url=https://www.thegracetamefoundation.org.au/the-board | access-date=10 February 2022 | archive-date=10 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210104222/https://www.thegracetamefoundation.org.au/the-board | url-status=live }}
= Writing =
In September 2022 her memoir, The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner, was published by Macmillan Australia. It was shortlisted for the Nonfiction prize at the 2023 Indie Book Awards.{{Cite web |last= |date=18 January 2023 |title=Indie Book Awards 2023 shortlist announced |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/01/18/225311/indie-book-awards-2023-shortlist-announced/ |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=Books+Publishing |language=en-AU |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118002343/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/01/18/225311/indie-book-awards-2023-shortlist-announced/ |url-status=live }}
Recognition and public profile
=2021 Australian of the Year=
In October 2020, Tame was named Tasmanian Australian of the Year 2021. She said, "I could be wrong but I don't think that a survivor of rape has ever been awarded in such a way and that's huge . . . It's hugely empowering for that community recognising and normalising the act of speaking out. There's no shame in surviving. The shame sits at the feet of predators, of perpetrators of these crimes."
On the eve of Australia Day 2021, she was named Australian of the Year. The panel said, "Grace has demonstrated extraordinary courage, using her voice to push for legal reform and raise public awareness about the impacts of sexual violence". She is the first Tasmanian recipient of the award and the first as a public survivor of sexual assault. Upon receiving the award, she said "All survivors of child sexual abuse, this is for us... When we share, we heal. Together we can end child sexual abuse. I remember him saying, 'Don't make a sound.' Well, hear me now, using my voice amongst a chorus of voices that will not be silenced." Her speech was praised as "powerful" and "extraordinary".
=Other recognition=
In 2021, Tame was named as one of Time magazine's Next Generation Leaders, and by the Australian Financial Review as one of the "10 most culturally powerful people in Australia in 2021".
Tame was featured on the cover of the May 2021 Australian issue of Marie Claire magazine. She was the first non-celebrity to appear on the magazine's cover in its 25-year history.{{cite interview| first=Grace| last=Tame | title=Grace Tame: 'It's Terrifying To Do Something In The Face Of Evil' | website=Marie Claire | date=22 November 2021 | url=https://www.marieclaire.com.au/grace-tame-marie-claire-cover-full-interview|interviewer1= Kathryn |interviewer2= Madden | access-date=16 February 2022}}
A portrait of Tame by Kirsty Neilson was a finalist in the 2021 Archibald Prize. Neilson was inspired by Tame's passion, strength, and bravery in playing an instrumental role in changing Tasmania's gag law.
= Nike ambassadorship =
In January 2025 Tame was appointed as a brand ambassador for the Nike company. She was removed from the position in early June 2025 after making pro-Palestinian social media posts.{{cite news |title=Just did it: Nike cuts ties with Grace Tame |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/margin-call/just-did-it-nike-ends-its-tieup-with-grace-tame/news-story/53ed53e995b886fb5f52f67b2ec97d89 |access-date=7 June 2025 |work=The Australian |date=7 June 2025 |url-access=subscription}}{{cite news |title=Nike drops Australian activist Grace Tame as ambassador over pro-Palestinian posts |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/nike-drops-australian-activist-over-gaza-posts |access-date=8 June 2025 |work=The New Arab |date=8 June 2025 }}
=Press coverage of appearances=
On Australia Day 2022, Tame was photographed with a frosty expression while meeting Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Several commentators criticised this, calling her "childish" and "rude", while others praised her integrity. Tame herself stated that "the survival of abuse culture is dependent on submissive smiles and self-defeating surrenders" and she was not willing to wear the "consequences of civility for the sake of civility".{{cite news |title=Grace Tame addresses tense meeting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison at The Lodge |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-02/grace-tame-response-to-photo-with-scott-morrison/100799204 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312051615/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-02/grace-tame-response-to-photo-with-scott-morrison/100799204 |archive-date=12 March 2025 |first=Nicholas |last=McElroy |access-date=5 February 2022 |work=ABC News |date=2 February 2022 |language=en-AU}}
On Australia Day 2025, Tame was photographed with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wearing a shirt that read "Fuck Murdoch".{{cite news |work=Marie Claire |date=27 January 2025 |first=Kate |last=Hassett |url=https://www.marieclaire.com.au/news/advocacy/grace-tame-anti-murdoch-shirt-anthony-albanese/ |access-date=19 March 2025 |archive-date=15 February 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250215172923/https://www.marieclaire.com.au/news/advocacy/grace-tame-anti-murdoch-shirt-anthony-albanese/ |title=The PM Responds To Grace Tame's "Disrespectful" Shirt }}
Personal life
In 2017, Tame married American actor Spencer Breslin. They divorced in 2021. Since late 2020, she has been in a relationship with Tasmanian Max Heerey. Tame met Heerey through the running and cycling app Strava. On 22 January 2022, Tame announced her engagement to Heerey via Instagram{{Cite news|last=Wang|first=Jessica|date=22 January 2022|title=Grace Tame announces shock engagement|work=news.com.au|url=https://www.news.com.au/national/grace-tame-announces-shock-engagement-to-max-heerey/news-story/96571c8728b9d584d34c5e4a036677c4|access-date=25 January 2022|archive-date=25 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125033127/https://www.news.com.au/national/grace-tame-announces-shock-engagement-to-max-heerey/news-story/96571c8728b9d584d34c5e4a036677c4|url-status=live}} and Twitter. She has referred to Heerey as her "biggest supporter" and "true soulmate".{{cite web | title=Tame's powerful post to her 'number one hero' | website=news.com.au| first=Jessica |last=Wang | date=15 February 2022 | url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/number-one-hero-grace-tames-powerful-post-to-fiance-max-heerey/news-story/e9d05f2f8ffa17204e78fcabe9f3279a | access-date=16 February 2022}}
Tame is a visual artist, and her clientèle has included actor John Cleese, and musician Martin Gore.{{Cite web |title=The Board |url=https://www.thegracetamefoundation.org.au/the-board |access-date=2022-03-27 |website=The Grace Tame Foundation |language=en-US}} She is also a yoga teacher and long-distance runner, having won the 2020 Ross Marathon in a course record time.
She has a younger brother, Oscar, whom she calls her "little hero", saying, "He came into the world right when the abuse started, and pardon the pun, but he was a literal saving grace".
References
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
{{cite news|last=Burnside|first=Niki|date=25 January 2021|title=Sexual assault survivor and advocate Grace Tame named 2021 Australian of the Year|work=ABC News (Australia)|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-25/2021-australian-of-the-year-award-recipients-named/13089884|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210308100952/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-25/2021-australian-of-the-year-award-recipients-named/13089884|archive-date=8 March 2021}}
{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/25/bettina-arndt-awarded-australia-day-honour-for-services-to-gender-equity|title=Bettina Arndt awarded Australia Day honour for services 'to gender equity'|last=Zhou|first=Naaman|date=25 January 2020|work=The Guardian Australia|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128011950/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/25/bettina-arndt-awarded-australia-day-honour-for-services-to-gender-equity|archive-date=28 January 2020}}
{{Cite web|url=https://www.4bc.com.au/defending-the-indefensible-ray-hadley-hits-out-at-bettina-arndt/|title='Defending the indefensible': Ray Hadley hits out at Bettina Arndt|last=Hadley|first=Ray|date=31 January 2020|work=4BC radio|publisher=Macquarie Media|format=audio|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131062258/https://www.4bc.com.au/defending-the-indefensible-ray-hadley-hits-out-at-bettina-arndt/|archive-date=31 January 2020|author-link=Ray Hadley}}
{{Cite news|last=Howard|first=Jessica|date=8 February 2020|title=Abuse survivor Grace Tame adds voice to strip Bettina Arndt of AM honour|url=https://www.themercury.com.au/news/scales-of-justice/abuse-survivor-grace-tame-adds-voice-to-strip-bettina-arndt-of-am-honour/news-story/8d27cc7d808a2ca46f33970193cdd2ec|url-access=subscription|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200208094300/https://www.themercury.com.au/news/scales-of-justice/abuse-survivor-grace-tame-adds-voice-to-strip-bettina-arndt-of-am-honour/news-story/8d27cc7d808a2ca46f33970193cdd2ec|archive-date=8 February 2020|work=The Mercury (Hobart)|publisher=News Corp Australia}}
{{Cite web|last=Stow|first=Katie|date=27 January 2021|title=5 things you might not know about Australian of the Year, Grace Tame.|url=https://www.mamamia.com.au/who-is-grace-tame/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201103040if_/https://www.mamamia.com.au/who-is-grace-tame/|archive-date=1 February 2021|website=Mamamia|publisher=Mamamia.com.au Pty Ltd|language=en-AU}}
{{cite news|last=Truman|first=Isabelle|date=8 March 2021|title=International Women's Day: How Grace Tame is Ensuring a Safer Australia for All Women|url=https://graziamagazine.com/articles/grace-tame/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210308092101/https://graziamagazine.com/articles/grace-tame/|archive-date=8 March 2021|work=Grazia|publisher=Mondadori Media S.p.A}}
{{Cite news|date=15 April 2021|title=Activist Grace Tame features on Marie Claire cover|url=https://mumbrella.com.au/activist-grace-tame-features-on-marie-claire-cover-678005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210529084736/https://mumbrella.com.au/camilla-and-marc-launches-ovarian-cancer-campaign-677429|archive-date=29 May 2021|work=Mumbrella}}
{{Cite magazine|date=27 May 2021|title=Meet Time's Next Generation Leaders|url=https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211004233255/https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/|archive-date=4 October 2021|magazine=Time}}
}}
Further reading
- {{Cite web|date=2021|title=2021 Australian of the Year Awards, Grace Tame|url=https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/australian-of-the-year-awards/2021/grace-tame|publisher=National Museum of Australia|location=Canberra, ACT|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 March 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210313041343/https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/australian-of-the-year-awards/2021/grace-tame|access-date=13 March 2021}}
- {{Cite web|date=2021|title=Grace Tame, Australian of the Year 2021|url=https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/grace-tame/2297/|publisher=National Australia Day Council|location=Canberra, ACT|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 March 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210313021301/https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/grace-tame/2297/|access-date=13 March 2021}}
- {{Cite magazine|date=27 May 2021|title=Time's Next Generation Leaders - Grace Tame, Australia|url=https://time.com/collection/6050030/6047435/grace-tame-next-generation-leaders/|magazine=Time|last=Luscombe|first=Belinda|url-status=live|archive-date=4 October 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211004233515/https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/6047435/grace-tame-next-generation-leaders/|url-access=limited|access-date=4 October 2021}}
- {{cite web | title=Grace Under Fire: Grace Tame | website=Australian Story | publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation| date= 22 November 2021| url=https://www.abc.net.au/austory/grace-under-fire/13642974 |first=Grace|last= Tame|format= Video (34m) and transcript| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203030903/https://www.abc.net.au/austory/grace-under-fire/13642974| archive-date=3 February 2022| url-status=live}}
{{Australians of the Year}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tame, Grace}}
Category:Australian of the Year Award winners
Category:Sexual abuse victim advocates
Category:Australian autistic people