The closure of the Grace Tame Foundation exposes a troubling pattern – dissent isn’t debated, it is defunded through pressure applied behind the scenes.

When did disagreeing with someone become grounds for destroying their life’s work?

That is the question every Australian should be sitting with this week, following the announcement that the Grace Tame Foundation is closing. Not because the work protecting children from sexual abuse stopped mattering. Not because survivors stopped needing advocacy. Not because the legal reforms Grace Tame championed were no longer necessary. The foundation is closing because sustaining funding has become “increasingly challenging” – and we all deserve to understand exactly why.

Let us be precise about what happened.

Grace Tame is the 2021 Australian of the Year, a survivor of child sexual abuse, and the woman who forced every Australian jurisdiction to stop describing the grooming of children as a “relationship.” She drove landmark legal reforms, supported hundreds of survivors seeking justice, and was named by Time magazine as one of that year’s next generation leaders. In March, she spoke at a protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog and led a chant.........

© Pearls and Irritations