Grace Tame has told an International Women’s Day panel why she believes Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called her ‘difficult’.
While speaking at the UN Women event at the convention centre in Sydney on Wednesday, Tame discussed Albanese’s controversial choice when he was asked to describe her in one word by an interviewer in February.
‘I want to be absolutely clear about this,’ Tame said.
‘The Prime Minister does not think I am difficult because I’m a survivor of child sexual abuse, because I’m a woman, or because I’m autistic.
‘He thinks I’m difficult because I have put a spotlight on the toxic allegiance that we have with the United States and Israel that is in direct conflict with our national interests. That is why.
‘The reality is that for centuries, laws have been written by men, for men. Patriarchal interests have been protected above all else, with little consideration for women’s rights or for our lived experience.’
Albanese was forced to apologise in late February after Tame, a former Australian of the Year, blasted him on social media for describing her as ‘difficult’ after she appeared at a pro-Palestine rally and chanted ‘globalise the Intifada’.
Grace Tame (above) discussed Anthony Albanese’s description of her as ‘difficult’ during a Women’s Day event
The ‘Intifada’ refers to Palestinians ‘shaking off’ oppression by Israel but has been criticised by some as a call for violence, which Tame said was not her intention.
The PM previously said he apologised if there was any misinterpretation of his loaded one-word description.
‘Grace Tame, you certainly can’t describe in one word. She has had a difficult life, and that was what I was referring to.’
The stoush was sparked when Albanese was asked to describe Tame in one word while speaking at a conference in Melbourne. ‘Difficult,’ he said.
The prime minister also described Donald Trump as ‘president’, Pauline Hanson as ‘divisive’ and One Nation voters as ‘frustrated’, but declined to describe Barnaby Joyce in a single word.
Tame’s interpretation of Albanese’s word choice touched on a larger issue widely discussed at Women’s Day events around Australia – how inequality affects justice.
Australians were urged to challenge misogyny and discrimination heard in everyday conversations to help enact a cultural shift in favour of gender equality.
This International Women’s Day‘s theme was ‘balance the scales’, which highlights the need to ensure all women and girls have fair and inclusive access to justice.
When asked to described Tame in one word during an event in February, Albanese (above) chose ‘difficult’
International human rights barrister Jennifer Robinson has seen first-hand how the justice system can be used as a means to silence victims of harassment and abuse.
In 2020, she represented Amber Heard during defamation proceedings brought against the actress in the UK by her former husband Johnny Depp, which he lost.
‘The reality is that for centuries, laws have been written by men, for men,’ Ms Robinson told the Sydney event on Wednesday.
‘Patriarchal interests have been protected above all else, with little consideration for women’s rights or for our lived experience.
‘It has meant that for too long, the legal system has been balancing its scales wrong.’
Ms Robinson wants to see legal changes that would make it more difficult for strategic lawsuits intent on silencing people to be brought to court, as well as changes to stop non-disclosure agreements from silencing victims of workplace sexual harassment.
‘We can’t hold men accountable if we can’t talk about what they’ve been doing,’ she said.
‘Challenging misogyny and discrimination whenever we see it in our own lives and people around us, having those difficult cultural conversations, call it out.’
The theme for this year’s Women’s Day is ‘balance the scales’
According to UN Women, one in three women will suffer some form of gender-based violence in their lifetime.
That makes violence against women the most prevalent human rights abuse in Australia and around the world, Ms Robinson said.
‘We cannot begin to tackle violence against women if we can’t speak about it,’ she said.
Focus should also be turned towards balancing the scales of justice for children and those who are survivors of child sexual abuse, Tame said.
She was groomed and abused by a school teacher as a child and is now an advocate for child safety.
Tame spoke about the six phases of grooming including targeting, gaining trust, filling in need, isolating, sexualising and maintaining control.
All are important for people to understand and be able to identify in order to protect children, she said.
‘Offenders are operating among us constantly … this is a ubiquitous problem. It’s everywhere, it’s in every tier of society,’ she said.
Tame (above) also discussed the different phases of grooming
‘But if we are equipped with the knowledge to stop it, we can break cycles, we can recalibrate the scales of justice.’
Every person deserved to feel safe, respected and free to reach their full potential, UN Women Australia chief executive Simone Clarke said.
‘It feels like every day we wake up to a new crisis – conflict in the Middle East, crises in Sudan and Ukraine and closer to home the recent horrific attacks in Bondi,’ she said.
‘They remind us that peace, safety and security are tenuous and that we must hold people to account, stand together and protect our rights and freedoms.’
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
