I came from a good home, two parents, good schools, safe neighborhood, etc. In April, 2010, Illinois State Senator Tim Bivins agreed to meet with Erin and he became the first state legislator to sponsor Erins Law. Since that first meeting, Erin has met with hundreds of state legislators, testified dozens of times in front of State Senate and House committees, served on several committees to draft bills and implement the new laws, plus speaks regularly to schools, agencies, conferences and media nationwide. A therapist urged her to get her anger out on paper by writing her cousin a letter detailing how she felt, and after she wrote it, she was to rip it up, burn it or otherwise throw it away. I was told repeatedly by my cousin that I had no proof, that he would deny it, that no one would believe me. She shows no signs of fatigue, and she seems ready. I tell parents the best way to talk to kids about this is through the swimsuit lesson, Merryn said. CBS News' Reena Ninan visited a public school in Illinois to see how the school teaches kids about safe . When I look at you, I see nothing but scum. I also learned in group how to create a safe place to escape to when memories flooded my memory.While I was not ready at thirteen and fourteen to immediately share the journey of what all I went through because I was still too ashamed the Children's Advocacy Center laid the foundation in my healing to one day let that voice be heard. I survived it and eventually learned how to thrive from it by breaking my silence and putting a face and voice on this silent epidemic. The abuse continued until she was almost 9. Survivors need to know they have nothing to be ashamed of. My mom was a mess, that day she probably cried for 10 straight hours, looking at my dad saying, we missed all the red flags, her grades, she was depressed, Erin recalled. Erin's Law, which debuted in Illinois, is now in 37 states and mandates that public schools teach age-appropriate sex abuse prevention to grades as young as pre-K. Merryn said those lessons on . Two of those children were my sister and I. Again, she was told to keep quiet, that no one would believe her if she said anything and that she had no proof. [3], She graduated from Schaumburg High School in 2004[4] and earned a Bachelor of Social Work from Western Illinois University in 2008. Erin's Law was the first law passed in the United States requiring sexual abuse prevention education to be taught to students in school every year, and it was subsequently passed in 38 U.S. states before being signed into federal law. Merryn is now taking her fight to the state of Alabama. However, Merryn said this time the perpetrator was an older cousin, someone she had viewed as a brother figure. (2016) Consider This Self - Author and Children's Advocate. He told me, "Your goal is to convince everyone else." Through her speeches and books, Erin is an inspiration to professionals working daily to fight child abuse. However, during the hearing Tuesday,Ohio State Sen. Sandra OBrien, R-Ashtabula, told Merryn that whileshe was sorry about what happened to her,there will always be evil in the world.. I found hope and healing there and people that believed me. It happened again after we moved away, when a cousin started abusing me in my sleep when I was 11 years old. How do we lessen the control these pressures have on ourselves, our loved ones? He doesnt sleep out ever. Erin Merryn, a sexual abuse survivor, applauds Stewart for making her story public. The shame is so overwhelming. The bill had already passed the House . Erin Merryn is a powerful speaker and advocate for countless, faceless children and adults in our country who have similarly suffered sexual abuse. In it, Erin chronicles how she cultivated the strength to face her abuser and eventually found relief from years of emotional restlessness, while also igniting the beginnings of a new fearless journey. Confronting him empowered me and eventually allowed me to forgive him when he wrote a letter apologizing. Erin Merryn (Author) 139 ratings Kindle Edition $17.99 Read with Our Free App Paperback $16.56 16 Used from $11.22 5 New from $45.35 Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. Every six minutes a child is sexually abused in the U.S. One in every 4 girls and 6 boys will be sexually assaulted before the turn 18 over 90% by a family member or friend. Erin Merryn testified Tuesday in an Ohio Senate committee about 'Erin's Law.' But nothing prepared her for two traumatizing events that have turned Merryn, now 25, into an activist, determined to prevent the same thing from happening to other children. Visiting Alaska this week, Erin Merryn is a long way from home, and even farther from the torturous past she endured as a sexually abused child. Thirty-seven states have passed Erins Law and Merryn has tried three times in seven years to get the bill passed in Ohio. The law was passed in a number of states,[7] with New York becoming the 37th in 2019. Unthinkable acts. In 2008, Erin decided to step up her efforts to protect children nationwide and started writing state legislators to ask them to pass laws requiring schools to better educate children, school employees and parents how to prevent and stop child sexual abuse. I sat next to a woman who I had just met moments earlier in the waiting room with my sister and mom. Merryn was also the owner of the viral Instagram cat, Bailey, until he died in December 2018. Erin Merryn (born February 2, 1985) is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, An Unimaginable Act, Bailey No Ordinary Cat, and The Diary of a Cat Named Carrot. Thats precisely why she does what she does. She broke down and cried and said Erin's Law could have saved her as a child, but instead she only got the message from her abuser, who she knew, and stayed silent. The yearly videos had educated me, so I knew to tell the stranger to keep his change. I also encourage parents to have a code word with their kids, she said. Instead I am still running from Brian. Erin Merryn was an innocent child of six when her best friend asked her to sleepover. Instead I am still running from Brian. When Merryn eventually confided in Ashley about what had happened, her friend was not surprised; in fact, the scene was depressingly familiar to her. ThediaryIkept my secrets locked away in, where I lost my innocence, I turned into a book mysenior year of high school called Stolen Innocence, because thats whathappened to me, Merryn said. The law has now passed in 37 states. In 2014 People magazine named her one of fifteen women changing the world along with Oprah and Hillary Clinton. Merryn is an author, activist, and founder of Erin's Law. They talked for hours about what had happened, and the next day told their parents about their shared horror. Oh and of course my cousin's voice echoing through my head "No one will believe you, you have no proof, you will destroy this family, this is our secret!" I will fight alongside Erin and the advocates right here in our community until the day that this lifesaving legislation finally becomes law.. The girls were brought to a Children's Advocacy Center where they had to tell their stories to complete strangers, something Erin wasnt looking forward to at all. Its word for word my diary from the ages of 10 until my senior year of high school. Then, after seven months of back-and-forths, he wrote a heartfelt apology to Erin and asking for her forgiveness, but also understanding if she couldnt forgive him. When Erin Merryn was a child, she was sexually abused by two people she knew and trusted, including a family member. In 2009 Texas passed a similar law but it was only a task force which did not mandate students be taught personal body safety, making Illinois the first state to require personal body safety education by law. Merryn advocates for sexual abuse victims. Has anything particularly heartened you? Her courage breaking her silence allowed me to take a stand for both of us and be brave and tell her we can't keep this a secret, that we have to tell our parents. Merryn saidif parents are not comfortable, the bill allows parents toopt their kids out of the education. (See Gary Glitter's sex scandal.). [8] In November 2009, she published a second book, Living For Today, discussing earlier abuse by her neighbor. Alaska Dispatch: Let's talk about two words we hear a lot when covering sexual abuse stories: victim and survivor. She explained to her cousin that she didnt want to publish it out of revenge, rather to help the millions of other sexual assault survivors. I am a survivor. Learn More. How? Alaska's version of Erin's Law is currently under consideration by the Alaska State Legislature as House Bill 233. Have there been times in your life when haven't done well? Silence Broken and Stigmas Shattered -- Help for Incest Survivors Is Here Fans of Erin Merryn's heart-wrenching debut memoir Stolen Innocence were left wondering at the end what would become of an emotionally fragile Erin after her confrontation with the reality of being a child of incest and molestation. In a Q&A with Alaska Dispatch before boarding her flight north, Merryn wasn't shy about sharing the difficulties she's experienced, including a suicide attempt, or the one thing that happened to make her finally tell someone she was being hurt. So far 27 states have passed Erins Law since 2010. Glamour magazine named Merryn Woman of the Year 2012, and People magazine named her one of fifteen women changing the world and a HEROES Among us in 2013.[9]. I left all the fragmented sentences, misspelled words, because I wanted readers to hear the voice of a young child.. Wow, I have a decision to make. I am so confident I will get this law passed in all 50 states, because God has already told me it will happen. She is an activist against child sexual abuse. Alaska Dispatch: When you decided to confront and start corresponding with your cousin, how did it go at first? Illinois is the fifth state to pass Erin's Law since she took up the cause. The only message I got as a child came from my abusers and that was to stay silent or else, she said. Here's how to protect your kids from online predators. But instead of telling everyone to vote against it, she told everyone to vote in support of this bill. Visit Amazon.au's Erin Merryn Page and shop for all Erin Merryn books. Call it what it is: penis and vagina.. 35. Motel management is NOT obligated to tell guests sex offenders are next door. I really open lawmakers' eyes when I share this with them. Merryn: I didn't expect a response back from my cousin because my letter was very harsh filled with so much anger and rage. Erin first gained public attention for this cause when she self-published her first book while still a senior in high school in Schaumburg IL, entitled: Stolen Innocence: Triumphing Over a Childhood Broken by Abuse: A Memoir. These monsters are living in all of our backyards., (Tip: Offender Locator is a great app to have on your smart phone.). However, she said theabuseand rape continueduntil she was almost nine. In December 2015, President Obama signed the federal version of Erin's Law providing federal funding toschools to provide this education. Erin has appeared in People Magazine, Glamour Magazine, Time Magazine, The New York Times, Time Magazine, New York Post, The London Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, among others. Check out pictures, bibliography, and biography of Erin Merryn Today there are more then 700 Children Advocacy Centers in America and millions of children have walked through those doors.Before there were CAC's children were interviewed numerous times in places such as police stations. There, at her friends house, in the middle of the night, she was sexually assaulted by her friends uncle. I got five sentences to my five pages, but he responded and it opened a door of communication, she said. It was taught every year, and when a creepy van pulled up when I was 12 having a lemonade and the man put his hand out the window asking me to take the change those lessons immediately played back in my mind. And a third girl I know was also abused by him. Are you afraid you will lose business? While these inhumane animals may live among us, there is one sexual abuse survivor who has made it her mission to empower children about these evil, sick people and teach them about body safety. I often say victims are those who are killed by their attackers. Before . "Alabama needs this law because just like everywhere else in America . tax-exempt 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. Do you know if it was as healing for him as it was for you? All rights reserved. Now she's on a quest to make sure lawmakers across America hear what she has to stay. My abuse first happened at weeks shy of my seventh birthday by a neighbor it went on until age 8 and a half. Erin, now a 33-year-old wife and mother of two with one on the way, has spent the last eight years travelling to every state advocating for abused children. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two daughters. She is an activist against child sexual abuse. Childhood sexual abuse survivor turned author, speaker, child advocate and activist Erin Merryn is the founder and president of Erins Law. Then, Erin said she told her family too. ", Merryn's family, including her two sisters, moved to another neighborhood in the same town when Merryn was 8, and she stopped seeing Ashley. After her parents decided to move Erin's abuse ended but only brought her that much closer to her next abuser, an older teenage cousin who lived . Named by PEOPLE Magazine a HEROES Among us and one of fifteen women changing the world. It just turned into a screaming match between my mom and his mom, your son did this, your girls are liars, remembered Erin. No one would believe me, she recalls this man telling her. Little did I realize, that by moving, I was getting that much closer to the next perpetrator in my life, she said. Sunshine and a few clouds. When people ask how I have overcome all that I have and doing what I am doing now, passing Erin's Law in 11 states, 26 introducing it and going to each capital to testify on it, I tell them all of this comes from our creator. For the next hour I relived as much as I was capable of sharing and just kept finding myself focusing on the large mirror having no clue their was a detective on the other side listening to my entire story and am very glad I did not know. So began her fight to bring this epidemic to the forefront, to push for every state to implement a prevention-oriented child sex-abuse program that teaches parents and school personnel how to recognize the signs of sexual abuse, and teaches kids from Kindergarten through twelfth grades techniques on how to also acknowledge abuse and tell a trusted adult. Check out Erins third book, An Unimagiable Act. This book describes Erins journey across America to get Erins Law passed and resources for survivors, parents, and educators. This fundraiser is organized by Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (Caase). Erin endured the abuse from age 6 to 8 and from 11 to 13 and felt the long-lasting effects of her guilt, shame and loss of innocence. The reality is, 93 percent of the time it is not strangers that are hurting kids. She is not ashamed of the sexual abuse she endured as a child and, instead, feels inspired to put a face and voice on childhood sexual abuse. Two days later, their cousin was brought into the police station. Merryn: Yes. And it was at her house the very first overnight that I woke up to her uncle who lived in the home sexually abusing me," said Merryn. Erin said all she ever learnedin school was aboutstranger danger. But knowing it was not strangers who abused her,she has made it her mission as an adult to make sure kids in K-12 schoolsacross the countryonce a year learnfroma school psychologist or social workerabout personal body safety education. After enduring a childhood filled w. It allowed me to let go of the bitterness, anger and rage I had toward him and find the freedom and peace I longed for and the ability to turn this painful event into something positive. "The new bill brings a mandate," Merryn said, "mandating that all (Illinois) schools--pre-school through 12th grade--must begin next fall teaching sexual-abuse prevention education in the schools." Merryn: I reclaimed my voice in the Children's Advocacy Center. Erin Merryn's memoir is about how her life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted."I thought when the abuse stopped I could move on with my life. I will come get you, I know where you live, Erin recalled. "I just stared at the ceiling waiting for it to end." The book is titled "Stolen Innocence." COURIER/JOELLYN CURRY Illinois is the first state by law to mandate Erins Law. Erin Merryn is among the many that came across the story. The center provided me a safe place to connect with people who understood unlike my friends in school who did not understand what I had gone through. Someone should have known in my earlier years when I was being abused by an adult neighbor. As the abuse continued, and as she was forced to see her abuser over and over again in social situations, she struggled with self-doubt, panic attacks, nightmares and the weight of whether or not to tell her terrible secret. Erins Law encourages research based curriculum, Merryn said. A week later, she got a reply. Since going public 10 years ago, I have had no contact with him. Her dad had to sit down and have a tough conversation with his sister, and denial followed. After Bailey's passing, she adopted a kitten named Carrot. Around the time we were getting ready to move away, my friend had a birthday party. If they feel they are in danger or in an uncomfortable situation, they can call home and use the code word, something as simple as, I forgot my math homework at school. . I found myself locked in bedrooms, basements, bathrooms, a car, garage and repeatedly assaulted by my cousin.. But when it came to being sexually abused, there was nothing. One day, a particular entry she wrote caught her eye. Sponsored by Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, HB 233 puts Alaska among the states considering "Erin's Law" in 2014. Little did I know by moving I was getting that much closer to my next abuser. The two continued to correspond for seven months. Erin Merryn, 30, a child sexual abuse survivor and creator of the legislation, said schools generally fail to give young students adequate awareness and a voice on the issue of sexual abuse. She was abused. Sexually abused and raped from age 6-8 by an adult neighbor Erin was threatened to stay silent by her abuser. My question to hotel or motel management would be, Why not tell? Letter apologizing me in my earlier years when I was 11 years old Senate committee 'Erin. Woman who I had just met moments earlier in the middle of the time we were ready. Hope and healing there and people that believed me see nothing but scum sentences... 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