“Little girls don’t stay little forever. They grow into strong women that return to destroy your world,” Kyle Stephens, one of Dr. Larry Nassar’s first victims and the first to speak out against him, stated in the Michigan court room.
For the past five days, young women and girls have come forward to make victim statements in court before Dr. Nassar’s sentencing. Nassar’s discomfort in court from hearing roughly 100 survivors and family members relive the atrocities inflicted by him is nothing compared to the years of abuse these women suffered as young girls. In addition to the sentencing in progress now, Dr. Nassar has been convicted on account of child pornography and will serve 60 years in federal prison.
Aly Raisman, a three-time gold medalist at the Summer Olympics, told the court about the abuse she suffered at the hands of Dr. Nassar. On Friday January 19, 2018, Raisman stood in court facing her abuser and said, “Imagine feeling like you have no power and no voice. Well, you know what, Larry? I have both power and voice, and I am only just beginning to use them. All these brave women have power, and we will use our voices to make sure you get what you deserve: a life of suffering spent replaying the words delivered by this powerful army of survivors.”
The statements in court are helping the victims find closure, as well as expose how heinous the actions of their “care provider” truly were. The powerful statements of the survivors are calling attention to a greater issue than just one predatory doctor; the U.S.A. gymnasts are targeting the sport, the esteemed U.S.A.G. association, and ignorant adults who enabled their abuser. Jordyn Wieber and Aly Raisman went after U.S.A. Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee (U.S.O.C.) in their statements.
Jordyn Wieber, a gold medalist at the 2012 London Games, recently identified herself as a victim of Nassar’s abuse. Since Wieber went to the Olympics with a shin injury, U.S.A. Gymnastics sent Dr. Nassar to treat her and the other girls competing. In her statement, Wieber pointed out that, “Nobody was protecting us from being taken advantage of. Nobody was ever concerned whether or not we were being sexually abused.”
Aly Raisman attacked U.S.A. Gymnastics and U.S.O.C. in court stating, “Neither U.S.A. Gymnastics nor the U.S.O.C. have reached out to express sympathy or even offer support. Not even to ask: ‘How did this happen? What do you think we can do to help?’ Why have I and others here, probably, not heard anything from the leadership at the U.S.O.C.? Why has the United States Olympic Committee been silent? Why isn’t the U.S.O.C. here right now?”
The trial of Dr. Nassar has repercussions that cannot be ignored. Child molesters like Dr. Nassar are not the only one’s to blame for sexual abuse and molestation; those who enable the predator and turn a blind eye to the abuse are equally at fault. In this case, with most of the victims being children, it is the duty of upstanding adults to be their advocate and voice to keep them safe.