Grace Tame: Speaking Out

THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT

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2021 was tumultuous.

The year kicked off with a women’s March 4 Justice and ended with several cabinet ministers tendering their resignations. We saw high profile defamation trials and a reckoning in Canberra which culminated in Kate Jenkins publishing her damning report into parliamentary behaviour…and all in the wake of a global pandemic. 2021 offered a glimpse into the galvanising force of women’s collective voices, which, when harnessed can change history.

Fierce females are not a recent phenomenon, but last year, the steady march towards equality has gained a rolling momentum which has been heard the loudest on the doorsteps of power.

And through it all, Grace Tame was one of the powerful women leading the charge for change.

Grace dedicated her tenure as Australian of the Year to holding those in power to account, to reframing the way we understand child sexual abuse and to encourage survivors to feel equipped to share their stories without shame or judgement. Her tireless work with policy makers has seen a real shift in the way our media and legal systems support survivors rather than perpetrators.

Join Grace Tame for a look back at her life in 2021, as she reflects on her position as the figurehead of a movement and explores the highs and lows of being catalytic to changing the course of Australian political history. Grace will be joined by UNSW criminologist Michael Salter, co-Convenor of UNSW’s Gendered Violence Research Network Kyllie Cripps and media, gender and cultural studies expert Emma Jane for a panel discussion.

Please be aware that this event discusses sexual abuse and trauma which may be distressing for some people. If the content of Grace’s talk brings up any concerns or distress for people, please visit: unsw.to/sexualmisconductsupport.

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Access

Wheelchair Accessible

The Roundhouse is located at UNSW Sydney's Kensington Campus (E6 on map). The closest accessible drop off point to the Roundhouse is the north entrance (D5 on map). Vehicles need to arrive via Gate 2 on High Street, follow the road to Third Avenue, and turn onto 1st Avenue West. The closest accessible parking is available in the Western Campus Car Park on Anzac Parade (G2 on map).

Assisted Listening

The Roundhouse has a hearing loop.

Auslan

The Centre for Ideas can provide Auslan interpreting services for selected talks upon request.

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Parking

There are multiple carparks at UNSW Sydney including:

• Western Campus Carpark with entry off Day Avenue
• Barker St Carpark with entry through Gate 14
• Botany St Carpark with entry through Gate 11

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Contact

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Speakers

Grace Tame

After being groomed and raped by her maths teacher when she was just 15 years old, Grace Tame has spent the last 10 years turning her traumatic experience into being an advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse and a leader of positive change. Recognising the injustice of Tasmania’s gag order that prevented survivors from self-identifying publicly, Grace offered her story to the #LetHerSpeak campaign created by Nina Funnell, along with the stories of 16 other brave survivors. In 2019, she finally won a court order to speak our under her own name, making her the state’s first female child sexual abuse survivor to do so.

Now, 26 and based in Hobart, Grace is dedicated to eradicating child sexual abuse in Australia, and supporting the survivors of child sexual abuse. Her focus is around enabling survivors to tell their stories without shame, educating the public around the process and lasting effects of grooming and working with policy and decision-makers to ensure we have a federal legal system that supports the survivors, not just the perpetrators. She is also a passionate yoga teacher, visual artist, and champion long-distance runner, having won the 2020 Ross Marathon in a female course record time of 2:59:31. An open book about her experience, but even more passionate about preventing this from happening to other children, Grace speaks from the heart and will have her audience simultaneously inspired and in tears. She is a regular keynote speaker, media guest and advocacy commentator.

Grace is the 2021 Australian of the Year.

Ms Grace Tame appears by arrangement with Saxton Speakers Bureau.

Kyllie Cripps

Dr Kyllie Cripps is a Scientia Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law and Justice and Co-Convenor of the Gendered Violence Research Network at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Kyllie as a Palawa woman has worked extensively over the past twenty years in the areas of family violence, sexual assault and child abuse with Indigenous communities. She has contributed to the evidence base through empirical studies that have defined violence on Indigenous terms, identified the factors contributing to violence, as well as examined Indigenous peoples’ access and availability to services in the aftermath of violence. Her work has also been responsive to providing solutions to support policy and practice change.

Kyllie places a high priority on knowledge exchange ensuring that her research is communicated to State and Federal governments; but more critically that the research is available and accessible to Indigenous communities, to that end she routinely provides advice, support and training to communities and professional groups in her areas of expertise.

Emma A Jane

Emma A Jane is an Associate Professor in the School of the Arts & Media at UNSW Sydney. Emma’s research focuses on the social and ethical implications of emerging technologies. Prior to joining academia, Emma spent 25 years working in the print, broadcast, and electronic media, winning multiple awards for her writing and investigative reporting. Her interdisciplinary research program combines scholarship and methods from gender studies, cultural studies, philosophy, and science and technology studies. Emma’s publications and talks focus on the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE) causes and effects of emerging technology, and span diverse topics, including social media, cybercrime, public policy, feminism, LGBTQI+ issues, neuroscience, genetics, psychology, and children’s media. Her memoir Diagnosis Normal will be released in March 2022.

Michael Salter

Dr Michael Salter is a Scientia Fellow and Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of New South Wales. His research is focused on the criminological aspects of complex trauma, including violence against women, technologically-facilitated abuse and the sexual exploitation of children. His published work includes the books Organised Sexual Abuse (2013, Routledge) and Crime, Justice and Social Media (2017, Routledge) and over 50 papers and chapters on gendered violence, child abuse and trauma. Michael is the President-Elect of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, and a member of the Advisory Group for the next 10 year National Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women and Their Children. He has a range of advisory roles in Australia and overseas, including with White Ribbon Australia, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, the Australian eSafety Commissioner and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.