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Who is Grace Tame?
Grace Tame is a well-recognized Australian activist and advocate of sexual assault victims. Specifically, she is the recipient of the Australian of the Year award for 2021.
Moreover, Grace was at the forefront of the movement to have the legislation repealed that made it illegal for sexual assault survivors to speak publicly.
Profile of Grace Tame
| Full Name | Grace Tame |
| Popular As | Grace Tame |
| Birthdate | 28th December, 1994 |
| Place of Birth | Tasmania, Australia |
| Gender | Female |
| Profession | Activist & Advocate |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Race / Ethnicity | Mixed |
| Religion | Christian |
| Education | Graduate |
| Institution | Santa Barbara City College |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Age | 27 Years Old |
| Sun-sign | Undisclosed |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Hair Color | Blonde |
| Height | 5’8” (173 cm) |
| Marital status | Engaged |
| Parents | Michael Tame (Father) & Penny Plaschke (Mother) |
| Siblings | Undisclosed |
| Fiancé | Max Heerey |
| Children | None |
| Net Worth | $500k |
Grace Tame is among Australia’s most influential advocates and activists. Accordingly, Tame was also awarded Australian of the Year for 2021 on 25th January, 2021.
Early-life, Education & Family Background
Grace Tame was born in the Australian state of Tasmania on 28th December, 1994. Accordingly, she is of mixed ancestry and is an Australian citizen. As of 2022, Grace tame is 27 years old while her star-sign remains undisclosed. In addition, Tame’s father is former Tasmanian cricketer Michael Tame, while her mother is Penny Plaschke.
As regards to her academic history, Tame dropped out of St Michael’s Collegiate in 2013 and later re-enrolled at a different school, where she received an ATAR of 98.3 and graduated with honors. Subsequently, she relocated to the United States, where she earned degrees in theatre arts and liberal arts from Santa Barbara City College.
Specifically, Tame is a visual artist by vocation and among her clients has been John Cleese. Additionally, she is also a yoga instructor and a long-distance runner who won a course record in the 2020 Ross Marathon.
Grace Tame, a Survivor of Sexual Abuse
Grace Tame was a dual-scholarship student at Hobart’s St Michael’s college girls’ school. She was diagnosed with anorexia when she was 10. Apparently, her 58-year-old teacher, Nicolaas Bester, groomed her when she was 15 and then sexually abused her repeatedly. Allegedly, she was also raped by her teacher in 2010.
Despite the fact that the school had many options to intervene, Tame’s attacker continued to abuse her until she reported him. Eventually, Nicolaas Bester, Tame’s abuser, was arrested and convicted of “maintaining a sexual relationship with someone under the age of 17,” a felony, Tame contended, that needed to be renamed due to the misleading use of the word “relationship” for abuse in other jurisdictions.
Moreover, her abuser was also charged with possessing child pornography on his person. Consequently, the abuser was sentenced to prison; however Grace was unable to publicly discuss the incident due to Tasmania’s gag legislation.
Nonetheless, Grace has a tattoo on her hand to demonstrate that she has survived the horror of sexual abuse as a child.
#LetHerSpeak Campaign
At the time of the abuse, Tame had undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, Tame also had to remain unidentified due to the legislation. However, since 2001, it indicates that Tasmania’s Evidence Act has restricted the release of information identifying sexual assault survivors. Moreover, the legislation prevented Tame and other survivors from speaking out about their ordeals in public, even as Tame’s abuser gloats on social media about his misdeeds.
As an outcome of Tame’s lawsuit, Nina Funnell, a journalist and sexual assault survivor advocate, collaborated with Tame to initiate #LetHerSpeak, a campaign in cooperation with Marque Lawyers and End Rape on Campus Australia, to overturn this and a similar policy in the Northern Territory. Meanwhile, celebrities and leaders of the “MeToo” movement all lent their support to the initiative.
Nevertheless, Tame spoke out for the first time in August 2019 after the campaign got a court order on her behalf from the Supreme Court of Tasmania, allowing her to be liberated of the hush restriction. Furthermore, she was Tasmania’s first female sexual assault survivor to obtain a court order allowing her to speak about her ordeal.
Likewise, in October 2019, Attorney-General of Tasmania Elise Archer announced that policy would be revised to allow sexual assault survivors to publicly speak up in response to the #LetHerSpeak campaign forwarded by Grace Tame. Archer also stated that the crime’s phrasing would be changed, citing that “the word relationship has connotations of consent”. Eventually, the law was updated in April 2020 to allow Tasmanian survivors to speak freely.
Aftermath & Interview
Reportedly, Bettina Arndt, a social analyst, had an interview with Tame’s abuser in 2017. Secondly, Arndt did not seek out Tame for her side of the story, and her name and photo were published without her agreement. Therefore, Tame condemned Arndt of “trivializing” and “laughing off” her abuser’s crime by defending him.
Seemingly, Tame’s abuser had talked publicly about the issue several times, while Tasmanian law prevented Tame from speaking about it. And, after detailing how he sexually abused Tame online, he was re-arrested for the production of child exploitation content.
Grace also advocated for the repeal of an anachronistic law that permitted her attacker to speak in public while she was prevented from sharing her story under her own identity. As a result, the law was changed, resulting in a greater understanding of the situation and providing strength and hope to future victims of abuse.
Grace’s Honors & Achievements
Grace Tame has been the recipient of several awards as well as honors for her resilience and advocacy. She has been named the Australian of the Year for 2021. She was honored among other remarkable individuals who have headed initiatives and contributed to the betterment of society.
Accordingly, Tame is a victim of child sexual abuse, but according to Tasmanian legislation, she was unable to speak out about it in public. Grace’s #LetHerSpeak campaign resulted in a change in state law, allowing sexual assault survivors to talk openly about their trauma and experience.
Likewise, Tame was awarded Tasmanian Australian of the Year 2021 in October 2020. Remarkably, she is the first Tasmanian to receive the medal, as well as the first as a public sexual assault survivor.
As a result of her commendable work, Grace has appeared in a number of prestigious magazines. She was featured on the cover of Marie Claire magazine’s May 2021 issue in Australia. Moreover, in the magazine’s 25-year history, she was the first non-celebrity to grace the front. Additionally, Kirsty Neilson’s portrait of Tame was a finalist in the 2021 Archibald painting contest.
Furthermore, Tame was designated one of TIME Magazine’s “Next Generation Leaders” in 2021, as well as one of the “10 Most Culturally Powerful People in Australia in 2021” by the Australian Financial Review.
Grace’s Advocacy
Tame has become a spokesperson for many others, concentrating on spreading awareness about grooming and psychological manipulation, as well as dispelling the stigmas surrounding sexual assault. In addition, she has aided the Los Angeles Human Trafficking Squad in gaining a better comprehension of the process of child grooming.
Grace believes and advocates that education is a better way to prevent child sexual abuse. She urges not to emphasize on responses since it can “feed the unconscious assumption that child sexual abuse is just a fact of life that we have to accept in our society”.
Meanwhile, Tame wants to eliminate victim blaming and encourage speaking up, and she argues that federal and state legislation should be more consistent. Further, Tame also led the Women’s March4Justice in Hobart on 15th March, 2021.
Tame’s Personal-life & Relationships
Grace Tame is currently engaged. Moreover, she was formerly married to American actor Spencer Breslin, whom she married in 2017. However, they eventually divorced under mutual consent.
Following the end of her previous relationship, she has been in a relationship with Tasmanian Max Heerey since late 2020. Consequently, Tame announced her engagement to Heerey on Instagram on 22nd January, 2022.
Physique
Tame measures 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm) tall and weighs around 68 kilograms. In addition, she has blonde long hair and blue eyes, as evidenced by her appearance.
Social Media Handles of Grace Tame
Grace is an avid user of social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter. Her Instagram account has a total of 209k followers. Similarly, she has amassed the Twitter following of around 143.9k people.
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Net Worth of Grace Tame
Grace Tame is one of Australia’s most prominent activists and advocates. Her net worth is estimated to be in the range of $500 thousands. Meanwhile, profession as a visual artist is her primary source of income. Further, the specifics of Tame’s additional earnings are yet to be revealed.
