ABOUT
My name is Gabby Rivas and I am the creator of the We Are the Force Campaign. I am a student at Marymount University and I plan to graduate with a degree in Graphic and Media Design in the Spring of 2019.
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One day when I was scrolling through BuzzFeed, I came across a video that played Aly Raisman’s entire 15-minute speech at Larry Nassar’s court hearing. I always like to have an idea of what is going on in the news so I decided to press play on the video, thinking that I would only listen to a few minutes and then move on to the next post. But as I kept listening to the Olympic gold medalist’s words, I kept wanting to hear more and then more until I found myself at the end of the video.
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I know people who are close to me who have suffered from sexual abuse and my heart breaks every time I think about anyone who has ever suffered from any type of sexual violence. I think that’s why when I heard Aly confront Nassar, the way she presented herself with such strength and told her story without holding back, inspired me to want to inform others of how they can do this too.
There were so many lines in her speech that stood out to me but the most powerful quote was the following: “Larry, you do realize now that we, this group of women you so heartlessly abused over such a long a period of time, are now a force and you are nothing. The tables have turned, Larry. We are here, we have our voices, and we are not going anywhere. And now, Larry, it’s your turn to listen to me.”
I hope that with this campaign, I can inspire others to use their voices like Aly did and continues to do in various interviews, events, and social media platforms. She and other fellow survivors, haven't let Larry or their haters stop them from saying what’s on their minds and it should not stop you either because when people join forces together, nothing can stop them from accomplishing anything.
Photo courtesy of Agência Brasil Fotografias