Gymnastics Australia report: Shocking findings of sexual, physical, emotional abuse of young gymnasts

For decades, young Australian gymnasts, were molested, abused and bullied by the same people who were supposed to protect them, a report has found. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Young Australian gymnasts have been exposed to years of abuse, a report has found.

Australian sport’s worst secrets are now out in the open and they are a national disgrace.

For decades, young Australian gymnasts, mostly girls, were molested, abused and bullied by the same people who were supposed to protect them.

For reasons that still haven’t been properly explained, taxpayer sporting authorities didn’t intervene.

The accusation is that they either turned a blind eye to the abuse because they were so obsessed with winning, or they didn’t know it was happening even when it was taking place right in front of them.

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One young girl revealed to the just completed Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) review into gymnastics that she was sexually abused by a massage therapist for an injury when she was just eight or nine years old.

“This man abused me in various ways, often with my Mum in the room,” she said.

“I would lie face down on the massage table with tears streaming down my face in silence. I remember it being incredibly painful, but I did not want to complain.”

Another young victim testified about how her male gymnastics coach would press his penis against her leg while she was exercising.

The AHRC has called on Gymnastics Australia to apologise to survivors of abuse. Picture: AAP/Dean Lewins

“When we were being stretched in the gym he would have an erection, which I would feel him pushing repetitively on my hips or back while grunting and sighing,” she said.

“He would often stretch me for much longer than the other girls. This was all done so publicly, at an age when you aren’t sure exactly what’s right or wrong or even normal, by someone your own parents respected and told you to respect.”

Another victim explained how girls, some still not yet teenagers, would warn each other about coaches who preyed on gymnasts when they reached puberty.

“As a group we tried to have signs and signals to help us avoid it even slightly,” one victim testified.

“We whispered things like ‘he’s got wandering hands today, try and avoid him if you can.’”

Other girls complained about being routinely body-shamed, including at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), which ran the country’s national high-performance program from 1981-2012.

“The first time I was called fat at the AIS, I was 11 years old and weighed 22 kilograms,” another victim said.

“There was another girl in my group who was called fat at nine years old when she weighed 18 kilograms. It goes to show that it really didn’t matter what we looked like or how little we weighed, we were called fat regardless.”

That’s just the tip of the iceberg of the accusations listed included in the AHRC independent review into the sport.

President of the Gymnastics Australia Board Ben Heap. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

Almost 200 gymnasts past and present gymnasts provided shocking testimony of their experiences in the sport and the devastating impact the abuse has had on them.

The Commission was told: “We know people that have like attempted suicide, people that harm themselves, people that are bulimic, anorexic, because of this. People have been admitted to hospital, been involved with the police, developed psychosis.”

The Australian Human Rights Commission review of the sport ran to 110 pages and included five major findings and 12 recommendations, including a proposal that all sports hand over integrity probes to independent investigators.

The scathing review destroys the false notion that the abuse of child athletes only happens in foreign countries because this all happened in Australia.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins said the findings from the review into gymnastics would be a warning for all sports that deal with young athletes.

“It’s very clear that a number of the risk factors that apply to gymnastics apply to all sports that children play and participate in across this country,” she said.

The Commission also called on Gymnastics Australia, which ordered the independent investigation in the wake of the Athletes investigation into abuse of U.S. gymnasts, and other major sporting bodies that ran gymnastics programs, to admit to their failings and apologise to their victims.

Gymnastic Australia was quick off the mark with an apologetic statement but president Ben Heap would not be drawn on whether abuse victims should be entitled to compensation, though he did say he would not oppose criminal investigations into serious matters.

“Sexual assault or other forms of assault should be referenced to the police,” he said.

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) released a statement saying it supported all the commendations and had established a confidential and independent support service for anyone needing help.

“We assure athletes, we will listen and we will support you regardless of how long ago the incident occurred. Our primary concern is the welfare of athletes – past and present,” the AIS said.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) also weighed in, after successfully pushing for the creation of an independent investigations unit run by Sport Integrity Australia after the death of Russian-born ice skater Katia Alexandrovskaya.

“The elimination of abuse requires a systemic approach to ensure cultural change, appropriate practices and policies and the provision of an effective framework for concerns to be raised,” the AOC said.

“The Review’s recommendations provide a thorough road map for these changes to occur.”