Gymnast Aly Raisman urges Australian sporting bodies to learn from US Nasser abuse case

Gymnast Aly Raisman showed considerable poise and power to win three Olympic Gold Medals, but perhaps her greatest show of strength came standing up to the man at the centre of the USA Gymnastics sexual assault scandal.

Raisman stared down convicted child sex abuser Larry Nassar in a blistering 14-minute victim impact statement last month and now wants Australian sporting bodies to learn from the USA's mistakes.

The USA gymnastics doctor was sentenced to up to 300 years in prison after 265 people accused him of sexual abuse.

Raisman said sporting bodies need to ensure young athletes are not isolated.

"With gymnastics we were alone with a male doctor and there should've always been a female in the room with us," she said.

"As a young kid I was taught to be careful of strangers. It never occurred to me that someone I trusted, a doctor, could be someone hurting me."

Raisman also spoke of the need for all sports to have an avenue for sexual assault complaints that is independent of the sporting body.

"It is so important for every organisation or every workplace, every school to have an independent organisation where anybody can go to for help," she said.

"SafeSport is funded by the United States Olympic Committee and if you report something to the SafeSport rep at USA Gymnastics, she is employed by USA Gymnastics, so ultimately her priority is always, how can I protect the organisation over the child?" she said.

"That is why this abuse is so common, because the people that are supposed to be looking out for the children are really looking out for the organisation. So it has to be completely separate."

Gymnastics Australia CEO Kitty Chiller said the USA scandal prompted her organisation to carry out an audit of its processes and policies to learn from the US experience.

"To make sure our policies are absolute best practice, included in that is that no athlete should be in a room with a medical person or a coach without a chaperone, or no athlete should be put in a situation where they feel uncomfortable," she said.

"Two weeks ago we also appointed an independent investigator so if there are any complaints there's someone independent of the gymnastics state or national associations that people can go to with any concerns.

"Part of our education process will be encouraging and empowering any young member or any member of a gymnastics association to know that they have a voice and to know where that voice will be heard."

She said the audit also took into account recommendations made in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

 

Author: 
www.abc.net.au