We simply cannot stand by and allow these innocent kids to feel ashamed and live in fear at the hands of their abuser. Merryn: There is so much shame and stigma attached to sexual abuse. 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. But instead of destroying it, she ended up emailing her five-page account of anger and rage to her cousin, who was now attending college. How? Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. Mar 22, 2018 Erin Merryn, survivor of sexual abuse as a child and the driving force behind Erin's Law, speaks to an auditorium full of students at Metamora Township High School last Monday, March 12. 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. But many schools, she said, are using faculty social workers and psychologists because research shows its better taught by in-house staff then outside agencies. Alaska Dispatch: You have since spoken up in a big way. The next steps for the bill remain unknown. Erin Merryn is a 21-year-old college sophomore who wrote a book, "Stolen Innocence: Memoir," about her struggles after she claims she was molested by her first cousin. I will not stop until children in all 50 states are protected from sexual abuse.". (2012) Fox News Self - Author of 'An Unimaginable Act'. Merryn said she was never taught to speak up about it, so shekept it a secret. The law was passed in a number of states,[7] with New York becoming the 37th in 2019. It brings it all back to the surface. (2013) The law has now passed in 37 states. Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. COURIER/JOELLYN CURRY Her friend slept through the assault, and Merryn remained silent. 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. 5 talking about this. 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. I am a survivor. When all you have ever been told by an abuser is to stay silent, no one will believe you, this is our secret, you learn to believe that, and (it) makes it extremely difficult to speak up about. Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. Two against one, somebody had to believe us.. Erin Elizabeth had cheerful holidays turned into a fight to protect herself from evil where she often lost. The revelation caused tension in the family. CBS News' Reena Ninan visited a public school in Illinois to see how the school teaches kids about safe . He was the father of my best friend. Little did I realize, that by moving, I was getting that much closer to the next perpetrator in my life, she said. CAC The place Erin Merryn broke her silence The Children's Advocacy Center of Northwest Cook County Illinois In 1998 seventy five thousand six hundred and forty seven abused children were seen in one hundred and thirty nine Children's Advocacy Centers in America. Merryn said she testified four times for the task force. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. ALBANY, N.Y. - The Independent Democratic Conference was joined today by Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz, (D-Bronx), and nationally recognized anti-abuse advocate and survivor Erin Merryn to hail the passage of important legislation to stamp out child sexual abuse in New York. She knew exactly what she was doing by asking simple questions on my life, friends, what I did for fun, and my family. 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. Erin's Law is the first US child sexual abuse prevention education law requiring children be educated in schools. She is an activist against child sexual abuse. It would be many more years until that voice would become the strong, confident woman that I have become. Erin Merryn, force behind Erins Law, tells her story at Metamora Township High School, Central Illinois Poetry Out Loud regional winners announced, Area students named to St. Olaf Colleges Dean's List, Fall archery hunters reach third-highest turkey harvest on record for season, FOP seeks applicants for new Peer Wellness program that will assist law enforcement officers in crisis, Local students make Carthage College dean's list, Local students named to Illinois Wesleyan University's fall 2022 Dean's List, Local students named to Trinity Christian Colleges fall 2022 Dean's List, Illinois Department of Revenue reminds eligible taxpayers to take advantage of Senior Citizens Tax Deferral Program, United Methodists form new church in Washington, District 52 proposes referendum on April ballot, Illinois natives REO Speedwagon return to the Illinois State Fair Grandstand stage, Interrupted Journey exhibition opens at Dickson Mounds Museum, Scots win 12 events at Roger Haynes Invitational, WCHS Panthers bring home All-State Honors, State Titles. Eleven states have passed the legislation. 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. My question to hotel or motel management would be, Why not tell? Nightmares and flashbacks continued, and she started harming herself. (Josh Rultenberg/Spectrum News 1), California Consumer Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information, California Consumer Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, The Ohio Senate is considering a bill to teach elementary, middle and high school students how to protect themselves from sexual predators, Erins Law is named after Erin Merryn who was sexually abused as a child, Thirty-seven states have passed Erins Law and Merryn has tried three times in seven years to get the bill passed in Ohio, House Bill 105 overwhelmingly passed the Ohio House a year ago. The only message I got as a child came from my abusers and that was to stay silent or else, she said. She urged kids to come forward if they or someone they know is being sexually abused. Bad things happen to children all the time, the Garden State may soon benefit from Merryns harrowing experience, knowledge and hope, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Erin Merryn Mar 2004 - Present18 years 7 months Chicago, IL Erin is an author, writer, and activist. After her parents decided to move Erins abuse ended but only brought her that much closer to her next abuser, an older teenage cousin who lived down the street from her. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two daughters. Please join Erin Merryn in her crusade to protect children from sexual abuse and donate to help her with her travel expenses today! 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. But Ashley begged her not to say anything because Richard had told her they would "lose the house" if the girls told anyone. Child molestation is an epidemic that needs to end now. Unfortunately for many survivors they never see their perpetrators held accountable. Says Merryn: "[Ashley] made me pinky promise not to say anything. I think he knew that once he had us conditioned, we were easy targets. 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. Names were the only thing she changed. 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. "It's something that is going to be with me the rest of my life," Erin said. 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." Erin Merryn testified Tuesday in an Ohio Senate committee about 'Erin's Law.' How do you identify? 46 reviews. One personal safety lesson learned at school that actually helped me in life was "stranger danger." No one will believe you, Erin. Erin also included the correspondence between her cousin and herself, for readers to also hear the perpetrator's side. It was so brutal I thought I was dying, Merryn, Glamour magazines 2012 Woman of the Year, recalled in an interview with the Asbury Park Press. They dont warn us about our own family, they dont teach us that in school, her age 12 entry stated. 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. Therapists (and) an amazing school psychologist in high school really helped me heal. 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. 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. My sister and I were the only girls that he was around all the time. Erin wrote that letter. Around the time we were getting ready to move away, my friend had a birthday party. Alaska Dispatch: When you decided to confront and start corresponding with your cousin, how did it go at first? Erins Law encourages research based curriculum, Merryn said. Putting the lives of children in danger and possibly taking their innocence is worth it? He told me, "Your goal is to convince everyone else." 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. She is the author of Bailey, No Ordinary Cat, Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. He did respond admitting what he did and saying he is using his past to not make the same mistakes now in his life. 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. The founder of Erin's Law. Read more about Erin Merryn on her Erin's Law Facebook page and her website. 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. She was honored for her efforts in 2012 as one of Glamour Magazines 2012 Women of the Year. However, she said theabuseand rape continueduntil she was almost nine. I was told repeatedly by my cousin that I had no proof, that he would deny it, that no one would believe me. Read more about Erins Law at www.erinslaw.org, or about Erin herself at www.erinmerryn.net. She came to me after I had been abused for two years and told me words I never expected to hear, that she too was being abused by the same family member. Merryn now had a duty as a big sister to protect her younger sibling. Jill Burke is a former writer and columnist for Alaska Dispatch News. 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. Do you still stay in contact with him? What factors came together for you to be able to not only overcome what happened, but to also thrive? Erin Merryn (Author) Format: Kindle Edition See all formats and editions Kindle $12.99 Read with Our Free App Paperback $16.10 35 Used from $2.70 5 New from $12.50 Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. So before CAC's a child brought to a police station could be filled with anxiety and fear that they are in trouble. Im very concerned about the possibility of grooming or the losing the innocence of our young children. I pull out my sixth grade DARE card and tell lawmakers I knew the eight ways to say "no" to drugs and have never tried even a cigarette and I am nearly 30 years old. Every other headline horrifies the public with another predator taking not just advantage of a child but everything from a child. 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. Alaska Dispatch: Do you think most lawmakers meaningfully comprehend the issue of sexual abuse? Im glad he gets body boundaries and safety and Ill be pounding it into his head as long as I can. It just turned into a screaming match between my mom and his mom, your son did this, your girls are liars, remembered Erin. Now, thanks to state Sen. Anthony R. 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