Former Australian of the Year and fierce advocate for sexual assault survivors Grace Tame has blasted her childhood abuser after he fired off a bunch of tweets allegedly about her at the weekend.
Tame shared screenshots of several posts from Nicolaas Bester — who has since had his Twitter account suspended — where he allegedly referred to Tame by her childhood email address and will come for her in “good time”. He seemed to be counting down to a “comeuppance”.
https://twitter.com/TamePunk/status/1564185183993364482?s=20&t=G03ZgjijTi0DVFicZustQA
“This has been the reality for 12 years now, behind closed doors for my family and me,” Tame wrote.
“Mark my words, I’m not going anywhere though.”
The email address Bester repeatedly tweeted is the one Tame used as a child “which very few people know”. Tame said it was the login to her old Facebook account which they communicated through when she was 15 and he was in his 50s.
Tame alleged the countdown the account was waiting for coincided with the day she is set to release her memoir: September 27.
“He’s counting down to an act of revenge, planned for the day of my book’s release,” Tame alleged.
These threats clearly constitute a federal offence and contravene Twitter’s child exploitation policy, which states that it is prohibited to contribute to the re-victimisation and re-traumatisation of a child sexual abuse survivor.
— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) August 29, 2022
Tame alleged that Bester’s incessant posting about her is “targeted harassment of a known victim of his past crimes”. She claimed the tweets were designed entirely to cause her further harm.
Tame reported the tweets to the police, but admitted Australia’s “reactive justice system is too slow, and nothing’s changed.”
This might not be the ideal platform to address this situation, but if not here, and if not now, then I ask, where and when?
This is an act of reclaiming my power against a predator operating in plain sight.
— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) August 29, 2022
This man seems to think he is still relevant, and can maintain control over me.
This man who groomed and abused me when I was a child.
He has known me since I was 14.
— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) August 29, 2022
“This is an act of reclaiming my power against a predator operating in plain sight,” Tame wrote.
“I’ve written openly about how he groomed me into believing I was infatuated with him. Such is the insidious spell. It’s a much safe narrative to live with that you’re loved than control the reality that you’re the object of an abuser who doesn’t care about you.”
Tame said that after years of growth and studying to understand child grooming and power imbalances she is no longer ashamed of her past.
“But he should be,” she wrote.
“He was an adult who abused his authority.”
I have the power to be vulnerable. He will never have that. He is too afraid, and too weak. He is too weak to be vulnerable. Instead, he exploits others who are. He knows no other way to be. I see that now. And because of that, he doesn’t scare me anymore.
— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) August 29, 2022
Tasmania Police’s Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Wilkinson told PEDESTRIAN.TV they are aware of Tame’s complaint.
“Tasmanian Police can confirm Ms Tame has made a complaint about the behaviour of an individual on a social media platform however we cannot provide further details for legal reasons,” he said.
“Tasmania Police is assessing the complaint and Ms Tame has been provided with advice.
“Where an investigation leads to a person being charged, a charging statement is released where it is in the public interest.”
Help is available.
If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
If you’d like to report online abuse, you can contact the police or reach out to the Australian eSafety Commissioner here.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
