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Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman discusses testifying against abuser and new campaign

Posted at 10:51 AM, Mar 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-11 20:07:46-04

It was a trial that sparked a movement. Former USA Gymnastics Doctor Larry Nassar molested more than 200 athletes. 

When his sentencing took place dozens of victims came forward to testify against the convicted serial molester. Among them was Olympic Gold Medalist Aly Raisman.

Raisman was is in Boca Raton at the Kids Safe Gala, Saturday night. She talked about the warning signs for sexual abuse.

"The more that we can educate adults and children, the more that we can make sure that people are safe and not suffering in silence," she told WPTV. 

In January the six time Olympic medalist confronted her abuser Larry Nassar at his sentencing after he pleaded guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual contact with underage girls.

"Deciding to speak in court in front of Nassar was something I decided to do last minute," Raisman recalled. "The weeks leading up I didn't feel like I was going to go I just felt really nervous and uncomfortable and everyone copes these horrible situations differently."

But Raisman told WPTV that day changed her. She says confronting her abuser in court gave her a new purpose.

"I've realized this is bigger than myself this is bigger than the horrible disaster at USA Gymnastics," she said. "Abuse is everywhere and so we have to keep talking about it to do as much as we can to make real meaningful change."

So now she's started her own campaign called 'Flip the Switch.' It's helping to educate people about the warning signs of sexual abuse. She's also using her own story of survival as a way to keep the conversation going.

"For the people that ask why are we still talking about it we're never going to stop talking about it because we still have so much more we need to do," she said. 

Raisman wouldn't say what her exact plans are for the 2020 Olympics, but she told WPTV that USA Gymnastics still has a lot of work to do and right now she taking things day by day.