CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE

NINA FUNNELL, Walkley Award winning journalist and #LetHerSpeak and #LetUsSpeak campaign creator GRACE TAME, 2021 Australian of the Year and advocate for survivors of sexual assault

Since its launch in November 2018, the #LetHerSpeak campaign has built an incredible legacy for survivors of sexual assault wanting to share their stories and the way media reports on such cases. It has also made a household name of Grace Tame, the woman at the centre who was originally blocked from being identified in her native Tasmania, but whose ensuing advocacy won her this year’s Australian of the Year Award.

Helmed by Nina Funnell, an investigative freelance journalist with 10 years’ experience reporting on sexual violence, #LetHerSpeak was originally launched after Funnell met the then 22-year-old Tame in 2017 and learnt of the gag law that prevented her from sharing her story.

“The idea was that by focusing on a single case study, we would draw attention to the horrific impacts of the existing gag law and that, in turn, would generate awareness about why the law was punitive and harmful to rape survivors,” Funnell explains.

“By taking her case through the Supreme Court and winning her a single individual exemption and then allowing her to be publicly identified under her real name, that would again show the benefit of allowing survivors the autonomy to decide for themselves whether or not they want to be identified.”

“The idea was that by focusing on a single case study, we would draw attention to the horrific impacts of the existing gag law”

As a survivor of sexual assault herself, Funnell knew that speaking out on your own terms allows survivors to reclaim control, so subsequently worked “every day, literally every weekend, nights, holidays and birthdays” from her living room in partnership with News.com.au, Marque Lawyers and the organisation End Rape On Campus Australia.

Her approach was