Grace Tame Changed Australia

Bringing justice for survivors of abuse

When Grace Tame was crowned Australian of the Year in 2021, I hadn’t heard her name. She was awarded for her work on a campaign called LetHerSpeak which sought to change laws that restricted victims of sexual abuse from talking about their experience publicly but allowed perpetrators to speak freely. Tame was the first person in Tasmania to be granted the ability to speak about how Nicolaas Bester abused her. Tame was silenced by Nicolaas as he sexually abused her at her school when she was 15 years old. She was then silenced by the legal system even after he was convicted and sentenced. He was free to speak about his actions and he did, with pride.

When she was given the Australian of the Year (AOTY) platform in 2021 she started her tenure with :

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.

This article will attempt to scope Tame’s words, her influence, and what her prominence says about Australian feminism.

The Highlights Reel

During Tame’s year as AOTY there was a reckoning in the Australian Parliament. As Tame normalised speaking about sexual abuse, stories flooded out of…