Grace Tame reveals she was involved in a car chase, was followed home and had thugs rummage through her bins

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has spoken about the terrifying reality of her work as an advocate for victims of sexual abuse.

Ms Tame this week revealed the extent to which she has been targeted for her actions because she exposed the dark world of child sexual abuse.

“I was chased home. I was chased,” she said in an interview with The age,

“I’ve had criminals come to my house, go through the bins, come to the front door and rip the door off its hinges,” she said, shocked.

Ms Tame said these criminals target her inbox on every platform and are very sophisticated as they know how to operate on the edge of the law to avoid being caught.

Mrs Tame remains positive despite all the frightening events.

“I try to hold on to the good things, the change that we have been able to create as a collective and the foundations that we have laid, so that we can continue to do even more work that needs to be done.”

Mrs Tame, a survivor herself, was molested and sexually assaulted by her 58-year-old teacher, Nicolaas Bester, at the age of 15, while she was in Year 10 at St Michael’s Collegiate Girls’ School in Hobart.

In late September, Grace Tame (pictured) will embark on a national lecture tour, ‘Lightening the Load’

Bester was later convicted and imprisoned for his crimes.

That terrible experience led her to activism.

Ms Tame was involved in the #LetHerSpeak campaign, which successfully challenged Tasmania’s laws banning survivors from identifying themselves publicly.

In 2021, Ms Tame established the Grace Tame Foundation to support initiatives aimed at preventing child sexual abuse and helping survivors.

Ms Tame rose to national prominence after being named Australian of the Year in 2021 for her work raising awareness of child sexual abuse and advocating for legal reform.

Mrs Tame talked about the prize The age“It was exciting, satisfying, exhausting, scary, overwhelming and unpredictable all at once.”

She added that the greatest privilege of her recognition was witnessing what it did to the broader community of survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

“I stand on the shoulders of giants, and the conversation about child sexual abuse and incest is something that has been going on for a long time.”

Ms Tame attracted controversy during her tenure as Australian of the Year, most notably when she refused to smile during a meeting with then Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a morning tea for Australian state and territory award winners at The Lodge.

Grace Tame (pictured right) shot to fame when she gave then Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured left) a ‘sideways glance’. ‘I should probably get my eyebrows insured,’ Tame said of the photo.

Ms Tame shot to fame when she was pictured giving Mr Morrison a ‘sideways’ glance.

“I should probably get insurance for my eyebrows,” she told The Age of the photo.

“It was such a short moment. I guess it’s like they say: a picture is worth a thousand words.”

The photo attracted national and international attention, with Ms. Tame receiving both praise and criticism.

In 2022, Tame published her autobiography, The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner.

Her memoir details her experiences as a child, experiencing distress and subsequently disclosing her sexual abuse, her work as an activist, and her 2021 Australian of the Year award.

At the end of September, Ms. Tame will embark on a national lecture tour entitled ‘Lightening the Load’.

Ms Tame said the aim was to ‘reflect on the very shocking, very bizarre experience of being thrust out of anonymity and into a garish, bright spotlight’.

Lightening the Load is described as ‘A glimpse into her ongoing work – from legislative change to personal growth – and how she and others are ‘lightening the load’ for a better future.’

Ms Tame said of Lightening the Load: ‘I like being in a room with people who are just like me.’

‘The audience that comes to see me is often people who, for whatever reason – it might be that they’re autistic like me, or they’ve had a similar experience of abuse or trauma – and who have spent a lot of their lives feeling like they’ve been sidelined and isolated.’