Grace Tame: When acts of turpitude demand consequence

“Turpitude” is not a word often heard in everyday conversation. It is formal, almost archaic. Yet its meaning is precise and powerful: a baseness of character, a depravity, a serious departure from accepted moral standards. In legal contexts, “moral turpitude” refers to conduct so contrary to justice, honesty, or good morals that it shocks the public conscience.
It is a word that now demands renewed attention.

In 2021, Grace Tame was honoured as Australian of the Year. Her advocacy for survivors of sexual assault was courageous and consequential. As a survivor herself—groomed and raped by a teacher while still at school—she fought to overturn Tasmania’s gag laws, giving a voice to those who had long been silenced. Her story moved the nation. Her cause united it.
Moral clarity was, at the time, seen as her strength.

Which is why her recent public statements are so troubling.

In the wake of the October 7 2023 attacks—a day marked by the mass murder of civilians, including women and children—evidence emerged of widespread sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas terrorists and, in some cases, Gazan civilians who joined the atrocities. These were not isolated allegations. Investigations by the United Nations found “reasonable grounds” to believe that rape and gang rape occurred at multiple sites. The International Criminal Court has since included rape and sexual violence in its charges against Hamas leadership. Amnesty International has likewise documented these crimes.

This is not conjecture. It is established, corroborated, and grave.