Grace Tame: Speaking Out
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT
Grace Tame | Kyllie Cripps | Emma A Jane | Michael Salter
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 A Jane for a panel discussion.
Please be aware that this event discusses sexual abuse and trauma which may be distressing for some people. Resources and support can be found here: unsw.to/sexualmisconductsupport.
VENUE | ROUNDHOUSE, UNSW SYDNEY
The Roundhouse is located at UNSW Sydney's Kensington Campus (E6 on map).
VISITOR SAFETY INFORMATION
Your health and safety is our top priority. Measures are regularly updated and reviewed in consideration of the public health order prevailing at the time, so please check back prior to attending the event.
Please be aware that when you come to an event, you will be seated according to the NSW Public Health orders prevailing at the date of the event, not at the time of registering for a ticket.
To protect the health and safety of all guests, please do not attend this event if you are experiencing any cold or flu-like symptoms or are awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test.
The use of a face mask is also strongly recommended.
LIVE EVENT
Please note this is a live event only. This event will not be available via livestream. No recording of the talk is permitted. The panel discussion will be available as an audio recording/podcast on the Centre for Ideas channels in the weeks after the event.
ACCESS
Wheelchair Access
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 High Street, Gate 2, follow the road to Third Avenue and turn onto 1st Ave 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 UNSW Centre for Ideas can provide Auslan interpreting services for selected talks upon request.
Captions
This event will be captioned. Captions will be available via the web browser on your phone. Instructions on how to access this will be available prior to the event and through venue staff. Please note that captions will no longer be visible on a screen in the venue.
PARKING
There are multiple paid carparks at UNSW Sydney including:
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Western Campus Carpark with entry off Day Avenue
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Barker St Carpark with entry through Gate 14
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Botany St Carpark with entry through Gate 11
Paid casual and visitor parking is offered via the CellOPark App and ‘pay by plate meters’. For more information head here.
CONTACT
For event enquiries or to discuss your access requirements, please call the Centre for Ideas on 02 9065 0485 or email centreforideas@unsw.edu.au.
The Centre for Ideas is happy to receive phone calls via the National Relay Service. TTY users, phone 133 677, then ask for 02 9065 0485. Speak and Listen users, phone 1300 555 727 then ask for 02 9065 0485. Internet relay users, visit relayservice.gov.au, then ask for 02 9065 0485.
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 was 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 – previously published as Emma Tom – is a writer and academic based at UNSW Sydney. Her research interests are eclectic and include: ethical tech design; artificial intelligence; sex and gender; LGBTQI+ issues; and wrangling super wicked problems in complex systems. Prior to her career in academia, Associate Professor Jane spent nearly 25 years working in the print, broadcast, and electronic media. Over the course of her working life, she has received multiple awards and prizes for her scholarly work, her journalism, and her fiction. Diagnosis Normal is her 11th book.
Michael Salter (Chair)
Dr Michael Salter is a Scientia Associate Professor of Criminology at UNSW Sydney, where he specialises in the study of child sexual abuse and exploitation. He is an advisor to a range of national and international agencies, including the eSafety Commissioner, White Ribbon Australia, the Grace Tame Foundation and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. He is the President-Elect of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.
Ann Mossop | Chairperson
Ann Mossop is the Artistic Director of Sydney Writers’ Festival, and was previously the Director of the Centre for Ideas at UNSW Sydney. She also held the position of as Head of Talks and Ideas at the Sydney Opera House from 2010–2017. She established the Opera House’s extensive talks and ideas program and lead key projects like the Festival of Dangerous Ideas and All About Women. Throughout her career she has been involved with important initiatives to bring the work of writers and thinkers to broader audiences, from the pioneering series Writers in the Park to the re-establishment of the Sydney Writers’ Festival.
