To appreciate the athleticism of gymnast Simone Biles, you have to watch her in slow motion. How she can propel her body high enough to clear a Ford Expedition while she unfurls with flips and twists is beyond comprehension.
Biles was in Kansas City Sunday competing in the U.S. Gymnastics Championships where she not only became the first female gymnast to land a triple-twisting double somersault in a floor exercise but also secured her sixth title.
As the reigning world champion in gymnastics, Biles is using that powerful platform to criticize U.S. Gymnastics for failing to protect her and her teammates from sexual assault by gym owners, coaches and staff. Most notorious is Larry Nassar, a USGA team doctor who sexually abused hundreds of young athletes over 14 years.
It was only in 2018 that Biles thanks in part to the #MeToo movement felt emboldened enough to belatedly join more than 265 other young women who said they had been violated by Nassar, some as young as 6 years old at the time.
Nassar pleaded guilty for his crimes the summer of 2017.
Slowly but surely, the curtain is being pulled back on the pervasiveness of sexual abuse against minors. Today, one in 10 children under the age of 18 will suffer at the hands of adults, according to the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.
LIKE MANY victims of sexual abuse, Biles felt she was somehow guilty.
For too long I have asked myself, Was I too naïve? Was it my fault? I now know the answers to those questions. No. No, it was not my fault. No, I will not and should not carry the guilt that belongs to Larry Nassar, USAG, and others, she said in a #metoo post.
I am not afraid to tell my story anymore.
That may be true, but its required extensive therapy to get Biles back into the gymnastics arena. She still quakes at the idea of seeing a physician.
EXPERTS say families need to start teaching their children how to recognize sexual abuse as early as age 2.
The first step is to show your children their emotions are valid, so they feel comfortable reporting threatening encounters. Parents can do this every day by showing their children respect and truly listening to their concerns. That way, should they find themselves in an abusive situation, the youngsters will intuitively know it is wrong and hopefully feel safe to report it.
Little kids also need to be taught that they are the masters of their bodies and that no one is to touch them without their permission.
Across the country, people are calling for sex abuse education be taught in public schools. So far, only nine states California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and the District of Columbia require mention of consent or sexual assault in their sex education classes.
MY HOPE is that the attention given to sexual assault these days by champions such as Simone Biles will help future victims know that as a society, we have their back. Thats the least we can do.
