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My favorite story is out of my own state of Illinois (One lawmaker) had been against school mandates her entire career, and (the sponsor) warned me, she is going to get on her mic and go on about how this should not be passed, schools should not be mandated to do things, etc. It is my hope hearing my message today youll see the importance of what Im here to talk to you about, said Erin Merryn. Alaska Dispatch: You have since spoken up in a big way. Here's a glimpse of her life and why she's on a quest for social change. In 2010, Merryn began a crusade to get Erin's Law passed across America. Have there been times in your life when haven't done well? CBS News' Reena Ninan visited a public school in Illinois to see how the school teaches kids about safe . February 7, 2023 by Cindy Erin Merryn is a Global Advocate for Child Sex Abuse Prevention For years, Erin Merryn was too scared to speak up about sexual abuse. Read more about Erin Merryn on her Erin's Law Facebook page and her website. I will come get you, I know where you live, Erin recalled. 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. Alaska Dispatch: You were preyed upon not once, but twice (two different abusers during different stages of childhood). See all See top. 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. tax-exempt 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. I left all the fragmented sentences, misspelled words, because I wanted readers to hear the voice of a young child.. [5] "Alabama needs this law because just like everywhere else in America . Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Nightmares and flashbacks continued, and she started harming herself. Again, she was told to keep quiet, that no one would believe her if she said anything and that she had no proof. Merryn travels the country advocating for children who are victims of sexual assault. I remember immediately after answering the interviewer I said "That's the reason I didn't tell before, I kept it to myself because I thought no one would believe me." (2013) My mission, through this legislation, is to educate children on what I never learned. Check out pictures, bibliography, and biography of Erin Merryn From the age of 11 to 13, I was repeatedly sexually abused at the hands of a family member, an older cousin, she said. The next day they told their parents. [3], She graduated from Schaumburg High School in 2004[4] and earned a Bachelor of Social Work from Western Illinois University in 2008. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Erin has worked diligently to lobby every state to pass Erin's Law, beginning with her home state of Illinois in 2009. Erin has spoken at over 250 CAC events.In 2008 she began writing legislators to require personal body safety be taught to kids in school. IG: The_Cat_Named_Carrot.Ellen is Carrot's biggest fan. Merryn said the abuse only stopped because her family moved away. Before . Usually, the abuse isnt at the hands of a stranger, rather someone they know and trust. Young children tend to hear a lot of messages about avoiding interactions with people they don't know, when in reality they are far more likely to face harm from a relative or family friend. 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. She published a book called Bailey No Ordinary Cat that showcases Bailey's unusually gentle interactions with her three children. Families pressuring loved ones to stay quiet is not uncommon, but as I often like to tell survivors, by speaking up you are not only helping yourself heal; you will help save other children from experiencing this same horror at the hands of their abuser. "It's something that is going to be with me the rest of my life," Erin said. 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. Erin Merryn is a powerful speaker and advocate for countless, faceless children and adults in our country who have similarly suffered sexual abuse. Erin is a mom to three little girls. One day, a particular entry she wrote caught her eye. He knows the parts covered by his underwear and bathing suit arent for anyone to touch or see and he knows who safe people are if he ever needs help with something. Erin said he would occasionally downplay what he did, but he never denied it. After it was republished by Health Communications in early 2005, she began traveling the nation telling her story about the sexual abuse she endured at hundreds of high schools, colleges, sexual assault centers, child abuse conferences and community events. 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. I really open lawmakers' eyes when I share this with them. Im glad he gets body boundaries and safety and Ill be pounding it into his head as long as I can. Merryn believes more can be done to ensure children also learn how learn how to protect themselves from sexual predators. In 2014 People magazine named her one of fifteen women changing the world along with Oprah and Hillary Clinton. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. 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. You seem incredibly resilient. Hes grown into quite the little man and doesnt want me near the bathroom when he showers or gets dressed and I respect that. Merryn: I cover these two words in my second book, "Living for Today." The abuse continued and Erin struggled with the secret that hung over her, a secret that eventually destroyed a family and took Erin's innocence. Then, Erin said she told her family too. Child molestation is an epidemic that needs to end now. Merryn found her voice at 13 when her younger sister said the words she'll never forget: "Brian's gross!" It turned out cousin Brian was abusing Merryn's little sister, too. She kept quiet, but behavior problems soon followed. But instead of telling everyone to vote against it, she told everyone to vote in support of this bill. The bill had already passed the House . Childhood sexual abuse survivor turned author, speaker, child advocate and activist Erin Merryn is the founder and president of Erin's Law. I will fight alongside Erin and the advocates right here in our community until the day that this lifesaving legislation finally becomes law.. Behind those numbers are the faces of innocent children whose childhoods were shattered by actions of evil and sickness. I remember reading this thinking, they dont teach us that in school. He threatened her to stay silent so she kept her secrets locked away in her childhood diary. 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. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Merryn's family, including her two sisters, moved to another neighborhood in the same town when Merryn was 8, and she stopped seeing Ashley. All rights reserved. COLUMBUS, Ohio - Erin Merryn, a Chicago-area resident behind an Ohio bill that would require public schools to provide age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention instruction, told a Senate. But at age 11, Merryn's second nightmare began. Visit sheriffalerts.com to find out if there are sex offenders in your area. She now runs Carrot's Instagram and shares pictures of Carrot sharing a similar demeanor of her previously owned cat, Bailey. I found hope and healing there and people that believed me. High near 60F. 5 talking about this. Those were just the number of children who broke their silence that year. One thing my abusers kept telling me was that I had no proof that they were hurting me, so why would anyone believe me? 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. Should someone have known something was wrong sooner? Thats precisely why she does what she does. Merryn, then 6, was excited about her first sleepover with her kindergarten classmate Ashley. In the end, he was given seven years of probation, 1,000 hours of community service, he attended a two-year sex offender program, and couldnt come within 100 feet of Erin or her sister. By breaking your silence you are reclaiming your voice. Merryn: Yes. Erin Merryn is among the many that came across the story. Erin wrote that letter. Look out for motels that might house sex offenders. Merryn: The first thing someone can do is start talking about it. I also give lots of insight and resources to parents in my third book An Unimaginable Act on warning sings to look for like bed wetting, wearing extra layers of clothes, avoiding a certain person, not wanting to be around them when they had no problem before, academic changes in school, depression, withdrawal, nightmares, aggression; acting out sexually, she said. There was one good thing about my sister coming forward, she said. You will eventually hear about this law being passed in all 50 states, and I plan on one day taking it and making it international, said Erin. 7Erin Merryn is a Woman of the Year because"She's taken her personal crusade and turned it into a public one. My abusers threatened me, and I believed them. Alaska's version of Erin's Law is currently under consideration by the Alaska State Legislature as House Bill 233. She has appeared on Oprah, Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, TLC documentary Breaking the Silence, CBS This Morning, Katie Couric, Tamaron Hall, 700 Club, and over 200 local media stations. Erin's Law, named after Erin Merryn, has passed in 36 states and is pending in the other 14. Sunshine and a few clouds. Do I know the difference between the truth and a lie? She also wantsteachers andstafftrained on the topic. If you tell anybody, you will destroy our family, she said.. Confronting him empowered me and eventually allowed me to forgive him when he wrote a letter apologizing. We simply cannot stand by and allow these innocent kids to feel ashamed and live in fear at the hands of their abuser. So, she forgave him. Choosing to forgive has led me to live for today. Erin's Law is the first US child sexual abuse prevention education law requiring children be educated in schools. EN. I finally got, after seven months, what I had been looking for: an apology. 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. My sister and I both left with stuffed animals and feeling like our secret was now in good hands. As an adult, she's reclaimed the voice her. Did you have a helper or helpers in your life? To a child who has been told so many threats to stay silent the idea of being taken to a police station can often scare a child. 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. Erin Merryn, Stolen Innocence: Triumphing Over a Childhood Broken by Abuse: A Memoir 0 likes Like "Brian, this letter is probably coming as a complete surprise to you, but I didn't feel I should warn you since you never warned me when you were going to use my body for own damn pleasures. Erin Merryn was an innocent child of six when her best friend asked her to sleepover. Merryn said she was never taught to speak up about it, so shekept it a secret. It is when they hear my story of how I was raped, and how my abusers controlled the situation by being the only ones talking to me about what was happening, that they "get it." Vermont State Board of Education has required it in schools since 2009. He doesnt sleep out ever. Merryn: I reclaimed my voice in the Children's Advocacy Center. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. Unfortunately for many survivors they never see their perpetrators held accountable. I had all the warning signs of an abused kid -- labeled behavior(ally) and emotionally disturbed, given an IEP (Individual Education Plan) for that behavior, I had anger problems, put my hand through a window weeks after being raped at 7 years old and threw tantrums on the floors in school. Its somebody they know and trust.. Erins Law is a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. Teaching kids the differences between safe and unsafe touch, safe and unsafe secrets, how to report this to a safe adult and to keep reporting it if your abuse does not end, said Merryn. How I wondered am I suppose to tell this stranger my pain when I am too ashamed to even talk in detail with my parents about it. 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. So before CAC's a child brought to a police station could be filled with anxiety and fear that they are in trouble. They talked for hours about what had happened, and the next day told their parents about their shared horror. Alaska Dispatch: Resiliency can be an important factor in how well survivors of abuse cope and in whether they go on to lead a healthy, happy life. 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.. Erin Merryn A Voice for the Voiceless Author, Activist, Speaker, wife, mother, and force behind Erin's Law Glamour Magazine 2012 Woman of the Year. Immediately I thought I was being asked this question because she already did not believe me. She was taught how to ride out a tornado, instructed in the eight steps for turning down illegal drugs, and told how to react to a friendly stranger who might try to abduct her. She was afraid she would be a burden to her cousin and that no one would believe her. People would be amazed how many people this really does affect and that they know but have never come forward. Meanwhile, the survivor who came up with the idea aftersufferingher own personal horrors shared her story with senators Tuesday. Please join Erin Merryn in her crusade to protect children from sexual abuse and donate to help her with her travel expenses today! CBN News Self - Children's Advocate. You will be believed.. It was a detailed account of how an officer came to her school to talk about stranger danger. It turned out cousin Brian was abusing Merryns little sister, too. Known For. Chris Newlin - National Children's Advocacy Center Why is it so difficult to talk about? 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. After reading that letter, a switch flipped inside Erin. Erin said the abuse stopped after her sister spoke up about her own abuse. Merryn kept her confusion to herself. I had only ever been told no one (would) believe me, I feared ruining our large extended family when they learned a family member (teenage cousin) was molesting my sister and I. Sixteen years ago, on March 29, 1998, my sister broke her silence to me. At age 11, Erin fell victim again. The more I shared the more I felt heard like I was lifting this burden off me and by the way the forensic interviewer was talking to me and encouraged me she gave me the message she believed me. You didn't just tell one person. 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. Putting the lives of children in danger and possibly taking their innocence is worth it? Throughout her school years, Erin Merryn of Schaumburg, Ill., received plenty of lessons in the dangers her elders thought she could encounter during her childhood. As an adult, she's reclaimed the voice her abusers tried to silence. Alaska Dispatch: When you broke your silence and spoke up, was it frightening? Alaska Dispatch: Do you think most lawmakers meaningfully comprehend the issue of sexual abuse? Merryn is an author, activist, and founder of Erin's Law. Erin Merryn testified Tuesday in an Ohio Senate committee about 'Erin's Law.' And for the next year and a half, repeatedly told me, This is our little secret. That is what brought Erin to tell her story at Metamora Township High School last Monday afternoon, during an all-school assembly. Merryn said she testified four times for the task force. As a result, she has been interviewed by many major news organizations and TV programs beginning in 2006, on Good Morning America, Oprah, CNN, Today Show, Fox, Katie Couric, Nightline, TLC, OWN, MSNBC, People Magazine, Time Magazine, Glamour Magazine, USA Today, London Times, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and dozens more local media. She was abused. Merryn (whose other books are Stolen Innocence and Living for Today), the mother of a toddler girl, says this is a conversation parents must have every year and often. COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio Senate is considering a bill to teach elementary, middle and high school students how to protect themselves from sexual predators. The same year I was born in 1985 was the first year the development of the first CAC in America was born in Alabama. Her dad had to sit down and have a tough conversation with his sister, and denial followed. (2013) CNN Newsroom Self - Child Abuse Survivor. 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]. It would have given me courage to know that I didn't have to live in constant fear that they could hurt me, and hurt me even worse if I told anyone. In the wee hours of the night, Ashley's uncle "Richard" (not his real name), who lived in the house with his niece, appeared in the darkened room. In 2013, Governor Quinn signed it into law requiring Illinois schools to teach it every single year. Buccos bill requires all school districts to incorporate age-appropriate sexual abuse awareness and prevention education in grades preschool through 12 as part of Core Curriculum Content Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. I can remember that as if it happened yesterday. Lawmakers are in the dark about this. MORE: Monmouth U. faces federal sexual assault case. A judge did sentenced her cousin to probation and counseling. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. At first, it happened when she was babysitting her younger cousins and their older brother would arrive home before their mother. Erin also included the correspondence between her cousin and herself, for readers to also hear the perpetrator's side. The words of my cousin began haunting me. 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. A week later, she got a reply. 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. Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. The parents can then share the information that the schools provided with anyone else in their household. Now she's on a quest to make sure lawmakers across America hear what she has to stay. Erin Merryn is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, An Unimaginable Act, Bailey No Ordinary Cat, and The Diary of a Cat Named Carrot. "Erin's Law" is named after Schaumburg native and activist Erin Merryn. Merryn is an author and activist against sexual abuse who founded "Erin's Law," which requires school to. Two of those children were my sister and I. She was named Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year in 2012 and a People magazine Hero Among Us for her tireless work promoting Erin's Law nationwide with a mission to our keep children safe by educating them about personal body safety. Do you believe one word is more appropriate than the other? At a family gathering at her grandparents' lake house, she awoke in the middle of the night to find her cousin "Brian" (again, not his real name), then 13, lying next to her with his hands down her underwear. In 2013 Governor Quinn signed Erins Law mandating child sexual abuse education in all Illinois public schools. 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. Erin wanted nothing more than to make him feel the hurt that she did. 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. Forgiveness is what set me free. Im very concerned about the possibility of grooming or the losing the innocence of our young children. Read more (2012) Fox News Self - Author of 'An Unimaginable Act'. My sister and I told our parents the next day (and) we were referred to the Children's Advocacy Center by police detectives to be interviewed. 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. . Was this just bad luck? The place Erin reclaimed her voice and began her journey to healing. 46 reviews. When Merryn eventually confided in Ashley about what had happened, her friend was not surprised; in fact, the scene was depressingly familiar to her. When she is traveling to state capitols or speaking engagements she is entertaining her 270,000Instagram followers that follow her famous cat. Alaska Dispatch: Silence is a powerful way in which sexual abuse is kept secret and is perpetuated. 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. Has anything particularly heartened you? It was the first federal bill passed funding sexual abuse prevention education. The brilliant minds behind putting in place a center that had a home away from home feeling to give children a sense of security and comfort.At thirteen was the age I walked through the CAC. Do not use the phrases good touch and bad touch, says Merryn. The man, then in his late 20s, abused her several more times in the next year, including, she says, raping her during a daytime visit when she thought he wouldn't be home. There is a misconception about this issue many people think sexual abuse only happens to the poor, to people who come from broken homes, etc. Erin Merryn (born February 2, 1985) is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. Erin Merryn (born February 2, 1985) is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. Sexually abused and raped from age 6-8 by an adult neighbor Erin was threatened to stay silent by her abuser. After an evening of playing with Ashley's dollhouse and watching The Little Mermaid, the girls went to bed in Ashley's room. Two years later, though,whenErin was 11, she said her older teenage cousin started abusing her too. Do you know if it was as healing for him as it was for you? I found (the) freedom and peace I had longed for. Her name is Erin Merryn and she is the founder of Erins Law. Then something happened that no one saw coming: he confessed. But only 1 in every 10 sexually abused children ever tell anyone about it. So, instead of speaking out, the only person she told her thoughts and feelings to was herself in the form of a little pink diary. Merryn travels the country bearing witness to what happened to her in hopes of encouraging states to enact laws requiring sexual abuse education in schools. They dont warn us about our own family, they dont teach us that in school, her age 12 entry stated. This representative did get on her mic. Her friend slept through the assault, and Merryn remained silent. [2] The family pressed charges, and the cousin eventually confessed to three counts of child sexual abuse. Is there anything about your life circumstances that you think made you a target? Two against one, somebody had to believe us.. That happened until I was 13. "Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, I met my best friend in kindergarten. Erin Merryn, a sexual abuse survivor, applauds Stewart for making her story public. "I didn't understand what was going on," she says. He got us quiet and continued to get away with it. I know that when theres one in four girls and one in six boys (being abused) Im not the only one standing in this room that this has happened to, Erin said of the statistics. In 2010, Merryn helped create Erin's Law, which was the first law to be passed in the U.S. that required children to be taught sexual abuse prevention in school. Merryn cautions that you can never just go by how many registered sex offenders are in your area. Wow, I have a decision to make. Because so often, people that are being abused do not report it until theyre in their 30s, 40s and 50s cause nobody ever gave them the message onhow tospeak up and tell, Merryn said. The shame is so overwhelming. Instead I am still running from Brian. You've grown into a powerful voice who is bearing witness to the nation. Alaska Dispatch: What can someone reading about this do in their own life, or change about their own perspective, to make coming forward easier for victims? 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. 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