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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-09-22 Daily Xml
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Tame, Ms G.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (15:44): I rise this afternoon to speak about the courageous Grace Tame. Over the past year, Grace Tame has become a household name, with her story being heard across the country. However, for a long time, Grace could not publicly discuss her case. Tasmania's archaic gag law prevented Grace from speaking out. The laws, in fact, prevented victims of sexual abuse from speaking about their experiences, even if they wanted to.

This led to the creation of the #LetHerSpeak campaign. Led by journalist Nina Funnell and supported by Grace, the #LetHerSpeak campaign gained national and international attention as well as support from celebrities and leaders across the globe. Survivors and allies used their voice to support reform of the gag laws and won a repeal of the Tasmanian laws in 2020.

Although a momentous win, the #LetHerSpeak campaign has continued, with its focus now on gag laws in the Northern Territory and fighting alongside families of deceased rape victims in Victoria to prevent gag laws which would erase survivors' legacies. While the #LetHerSpeak campaign was growing, Grace was fighting to have her story heard. After two years and a $10,000 legal bill, the courts granted Grace an exemption to publicly self-identify.

Since then, Grace has been sharing her story. No matter how many times you hear her story it is just as harrowing as the first. Grace was groomed and raped by her maths teacher when she was in year 10, just 15 years old. Her story has taught all Australians about the experience of sexual abuse survivors and the effects of child grooming. Her campaign has stretched further than her experience and has led to a national reckoning on the social and political barriers sexual abuse survivors face. Grace said in an interview:

It’s so important for people to own their own story, their own narrative and to take back control of who they are. And it’s so important that survivors know that it’s not their fault and to have the support of the community and the support of the law.

Grace laid all her experiences on the table. She shared her journey through her trauma and her journey since the incident. Hearing her speak made me think about the women in my life who have been affected by sexual violence, abuse and harassment. Many in this place can relate.

Grace spoke briefly about the women's safety summit that was recently held. Like many of us, she did not think much of it. She shared that it feeds straight into the federal government's pattern of denial and dismissal of women's issues and served as a band-aid solution to hopefully make the issues go away.

Highly critical of the government for their lack of inaction, Grace mentioned that the Respect@Work report had been sitting on the government's desk for more than a year, with no real action implemented. I cannot help but think about how similar the situation is in our parliament with the equal opportunity commissioner's report into harassment within the parliamentary workplace.

Grace shared that it is not because we do not know the solutions to the problems we face; it is because of the political will that things in the system are not changed. She said at the end of the day it always comes back to power and control. Why would the government want to give up power? There is no political will from the coalition to give up control. How long will it take for this government to realise that Grace and women marching alongside her will not be silent until change is made?

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