“It’s not always easy to talk about this stuff,” she admits. In the nine days before we meet she’s given four keynote addresses in three different cities, appeared on two panels, and spoken on television, radio and podcasts – exhausting under any circumstances, let alone when prompted to recount personal trauma. Since then, she’s become Australia’s woman of the moment, dubbed an “inspiration”, “force for change” and “instigator of a revolution”. “Together we can end child sexual abuse survivors be proud, our voices are changing history!” she declared in a heart-pounding acceptance speech for her national honour on January 25, as the room erupted into cheers and tears. Tame’s mission, rather, is to shed light on the ugly realities of child grooming and sexual abuse - to break through the culture of silence that has allowed corrupt cultures to thrive. “When there’s all this rage and widespread shock, we can get stuck in a cycle of darkness – and that’s not productive.” “I get frustrated when people only want to focus on the negative details – tell me about your rape take us back to your darkest moment,” she says as we chat on a rainy Thursday after the marie claire photo shoot. And she’s a survivor of child sexual abuse, whose courageous advocacy helped overturn oppressive “victim gag laws” in Tasmania and the Northern Territory, and earned her the title of 2021 Australian of the Year. She’s a keen runner who won her first marathon last year, and a talented artist who toured the US as comedian John Cleese’s illustrator. Her piercing blue eyes light up when she speaks on issues she’s passionate about, and soften when talk turns to her boyfriend and tight-knit family. The 26-year-old Tasmanian is a self-described optimist who finds beauty in nature and solace in salty sea swims. Grace Tame will not be defined by darkness.
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