Olympic gymnast launches campaign to fight sex abuse in youth sports

Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman has launched a new campaign called Flip The Switch to teach adults to recognize sexual abuse among youth athletes. 

Raisman was one of over 150 women who came forward as victims of sexual abuse at the hands of their former sports doctor Larry Nassar.  

On Wednesday, the two-time Olympic champion announced a new campaign to help train adults in sexual abuse prevention. 

{mosads} Raisman partnered with Darkness to Light, a nonprofit committed to empowering adults to prevent child sexual abuse, to form the #FlipTheSwitch campaign. 

“Please join the effort to address sexual abuse in sport,” Raisman tweeted on Wednesday. “I have partnered with Darkness 2 Light to make programming available now at no cost. Go to FlipTheSwitchCampaign.org, enter code FlipTheSwitch, and complete the program I will personally sign every certificate of completion.” 

Please join the effort to address sexual abuse in sport. I have partnered with Darkness 2 Light to make programming available now at no cost. Go to https://t.co/C3tnm0hw4W enter code FlipTheSwitch, & complete the program. I will personally sign every certificate of completion. pic.twitter.com/iWoj17BHXB

— Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) March 7, 2018

Raisman’s specialized campaign will provide adults involved in youth sports with free training to detect and prevent sexual abuse in children. 

“To address this terrible problem, we all need to be willing to confront it head-on,” Raisman told Sports Illustrated. “Sexual abuse is something that needs to be discussed openly — especially now — given the challenges our sport is facing, and all adults should become educated as to how to prevent it. Ignoring the issue, in hopes that it goes away, is unacceptable. Athlete safety must be the highest priority.”

Other Olympians like swimmer Michael Phelps and skier Gus Kenworthy supported the initiative on Twitter. 

This is an important issue in every sport, and I encourage all adults to join me in completing this program. @Aly_Raisman

— Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps) March 8, 2018

It’s so important for sports to be a safe space for kids. @Aly_Raisman is doing something to help end child sex abuse – click the link to see how you can too! https://t.co/7SQKW3FO16

— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) March 8, 2018

In the weeks since her statement at Nassar’s sentencing, Raisman has spoken much more openly about her abuse. 

Raisman sued the U.S. Olympic Committee last week, alleging the organization either knew or should have known about Nassar’s abuse. 

The lawsuit says Nassar was given unrestricted access to athletes and competitions at the official training facility, the Karolyi Ranch, in Texas. The facility has since shut down.