If someone ever does touch you in those areas, you tell immediately., Merryn suggests the books The Swimsuit Lesson and The Right Touch.. I always feared he would come back. Since going public 10 years ago, I have had no contact with him. A voice that flies across America and speaks at many of these CAC's that exist taking people back to my experience at the CAC and this time sharing all the details because I no longer carry the shame but instead a voice bringing awareness to these incredible centers that give children a new start on life and a path toward healing. Her older cousin sexually abused her from 11-13 years old. Merryn advocates for sexual abuse victims. 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. 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 now on a mission to persuade all 50 states to pass Erins Law, which mandates that all public schools use age-appropriate curricula to teach students how to tell on anyone who touches or attempts to touch their private parts. I guess what I was trying to ask is, why do you think your abusers chose you instead of some other girl as a target? The next steps for the bill remain unknown. There are thousands of accused sex offenders every year who are found not guilty living in our communities. He was the father of my best friend. Erin said they just wanted to make sure their nephew got help. 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. 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. Was this just bad luck? The shame is so overwhelming. High near 60F. Merryn: The first thing someone can do is start talking about it. These days hes almost 9 and I dont really tag along to play dates anymore, but every time I drop him off, I tell him, if you have to use the bathroom, lock the door and have privacy. Erin Elizabeth heard over the years from 11-13 "Nobody will believe you, you have no proof, you will destroy our large extended family, this is our secret don't tell anyone." Illinois is the fifth state to pass Erin's Law since she took up the cause. Merryn said she was never taught to speak up about it, so shekept it a secret. Erin also included the correspondence between her cousin and herself, for readers to also hear the perpetrator's side. Nightmares and flashbacks continued, and she started harming herself. I can spend the rest of my life hating him, or I can forgive him and do something positive about this thing that continues to be a negative thing in my life, she said. 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. After enduring a childhood filled w. 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. 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. But where were the eight ways on how to "get away and tell today?" The ability to forgive both my abusers set me free and gave me my voice back and the strength to speak out for others. The abuse went on for years. I will fight alongside Erin and the advocates right here in our community until the day that this lifesaving legislation finally becomes law.. Merryn believes more can be done to ensure children also learn how learn how to protect themselves from sexual predators. EN RU CN DE ES. Here's a glimpse of her life and why she's on a quest for social change. These monsters are living in all of our backyards., (Tip: Offender Locator is a great app to have on your smart phone.). 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. 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. Sponsored by Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, HB 233 puts Alaska among the states considering "Erin's Law" in 2014. It ended only after a chance conversation between Merryn and one of her sisters, who blurted out one day that their cousin Brian was "gross." There was one good thing about my sister coming forward, she said. She was honored for her efforts in 2012 as one of Glamour Magazines 2012 Women of the Year. But her nightmare was just beginning. 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. Do not use the phrases good touch and bad touch, says Merryn. In 2013, Governor Quinn signed it into law requiring Illinois schools to teach it every single year. Here's how to protect your kids from online predators. I continued to write him because I wanted answers. Wow, I have a decision to make. He doesnt sleep out ever. I found myself locked in bedrooms, basements, bathrooms, a car, garage and repeatedly assaulted by my cousin.. And for the next year and a half, repeatedly told me, This is our little secret. Im very concerned about the possibility of grooming or the losing the innocence of our young children. She told them that, growing up in Illinois, she had experienced tornado drills, fire drills and bus drills; was taught about stranger danger and eight ways to say no to drugs through D.A.R.E., but no one ever taught her how to protect herself from sexual abuse and what to do if a family member or friend molested or raped her. Then, Erin said she told her family too. (2013) Erin Merryn (born February 2, 1985) is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. My name is Erin Merryn and I am a survivor of child sexual abuse. I can remember that as if it happened yesterday. Last week the law passed in two more states, Virginia and Wyoming, bringing the total to 34. 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. 7Erin Merryn is a Woman of the Year because"She's taken her personal crusade and turned it into a public one. My goal in life is to give a voice to the voiceless and put these predators out of business, she said. She was also afraid she would lose her innocence. Merryn was as bewildered as she was frightened. Instead I am still running from Brian. Stolen Innocencewas published soon after. Victims of abuse know their perpetrators 80% to 90% of the time, says David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. (See Gary Glitter's sex scandal.). Download it here. She is the author of Bailey, No Ordinary Cat, Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. Erin Merryn Mar 2004 - Present18 years 7 months Chicago, IL Erin is an author, writer, and activist. My sister and I both left with stuffed animals and feeling like our secret was now in good hands. "I just stared at the ceiling waiting for it to end." Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. She is an activist against child sexual abuse. InDecember 2015 President Obama signed thefederal version of Erin's Law providing federal funding for schools to use. Erins Law is a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. If you tell anybody, you will destroy our family, she said.. This went on for a month before police got involved. (2013) CNN Newsroom Self - Child Abuse Survivor. The school, community organization, day care center, etc. I am a survivor. 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. Under Erins Law, the New Jersey Commissioner of Education must provide school districts with age-appropriate sample learning activities and resources designed to implement this requirement. However, she said theabuseand rape continueduntil she was almost nine. Two days later, their cousin was brought into the police station. Are you afraid you will lose business? He cornered her in basements, bathrooms and bedrooms, always reminding her that she shouldn't bother telling anyone because no one would believe her. 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. When I was six years old, I was sexually abused at a neighbor's house. She has made it her mission in life to get this legislation passed in all 50 states. The bill had already passed the House . Merryn lay on blankets on the floor next to Ashley, who was in her bed. [3], She graduated from Schaumburg High School in 2004[4] and earned a Bachelor of Social Work from Western Illinois University in 2008. Merryn: I reclaimed my voice in the Children's Advocacy Center. 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.. At the age of 13, Erin finally got the courage to tell her parents after learning her younger sister was being abused by that same cousin. Merryn: Many don't realize that there are 42 million survivors in America of child sexual abuse. Erin wanted nothing more than to make him feel the hurt that she did. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two daughters. I finally got, after seven months, what I had been looking for: an apology. "I didn't understand what was going on," she says. The path to justice for survivors of sexual assault is not an easy road. 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. Erin Merryn (born February 2, 1985) is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. 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. Victims are those who don't survive. 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. Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. Merryn is now taking her fight to the state of Alabama. 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." Who encouraged you to keep talking, to keep fighting? 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. We live in a society that doesn't want to even address this issue. Partly cloudy. 25 $. That's where, 14 years ago, a then-13-year-old Erin Merryn first . 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. Well, something shocking happened. Merryn worked with U.S. Instead of putting their daughters through further emotional trauma of a criminal trial, Erins parents decided not to press charges. 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. God has healed me, made me whole again, and has shown me the ability to forgive, the freedom it brings yourself, and shown me my purpose in this life, and that is to give kids the voice I didn't have. 4 mos. Erins ongoing abuse with her friends uncle was over. Bucco introduced Erins Law (S-2145) on May 2. Through her speeches and books, Erin is an inspiration to professionals working daily to fight child abuse. Info here from RAINNwww.rainn.org/news/president-signs-measures-support-state-action-prevent-and-address-child-sexual-abuseErin's media appearances have included Access Hollywood 2020Tamron Hall 2020HLN 2020CBS Morning Show 2019The Morning Blend 2019CNN 2018, HLN 2018, BUILD 2018 TLC Breaking the Silence Documentary TODAY show 2015, Nancy Grace 2015, ABC Nightline 2015, CNN 2015, Dr. Drew 2015, Inside Edition 2015, MSNBC 2015, Oprah Winfrey Network 2014, Windy City Live 2014, MSNBC 2013, FOX 2013, Katie Couric 2013, Oprah Life Class 2012, CNN 2012, Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell 2011, Oprah Winfrey Show October 2010, Montel Williams in April/July 2006, and Good Morning America in May 2006. Two against one, somebody had to believe us.. Merryn said the abuse only stopped because her family moved away. 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. This representative did get on her mic. My parents believed me and my cousin Brian confessed to the police, she said. After graduating, Erin went on to earn her Masters degree in social work, but from time to time she would still consult her little pink childhood diary. 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]. Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. 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. The only difference is now I am running from him in my dreams" (Merryn 49). Merryn: My resilience took a lot of psychological help growing up as a kid, teen, and young adult. Erin's Law has passed in 21 states and is pending in 22 others. One thing my abusers kept telling me was that I had no proof that they were hurting me, so why would anyone believe me? [3], "I was not educated on not keeping secrets if someone was hurting me. Known For. Erin Merryn is an author, activist, speaker, wife, and mom to young human children and a fur baby named Bailey. 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. See all See top. The next day they told their parents. Alaska Dispatch: In your quest to get Erin's Law passed in every state, you must have encountered some surprising remarks. Merryn, then 6, was excited about her first sleepover with her kindergarten classmate Ashley. Read more about Erins Law at www.erinslaw.org, or about Erin herself at www.erinmerryn.net. Do you believe one word is more appropriate than the other? Those were just the number of children who broke their silence that year. Forgiving him did not mean what he did was right, she stressed. 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. It was the first time she supported a school mandate, and she retired later that year. 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. She has now dedicated her life to protecting our nations children. The instruction will be provided by a school nurse who has completed professional development sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention. Erin Merryn speaks with enthusiasm, rattling off the list of trips around the globe, the hours of research and meetings promoting her cause. 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. Merryn spoke to members of the Ohio Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee of how she was sexually abused as a child. Our guest speaker for the Luncheon will now be Erin Merryn, childhood sexual abuse survivor turned author, speaker, child advocate and activist, and the force behind Erin . The law was passed in a number of states,[7] with New York becoming the 37th in 2019. You seem incredibly resilient. Every other headline horrifies the public with another predator taking not just advantage of a child but everything from a child. That is what brought Erin to tell her story at Metamora Township High School last Monday afternoon, during an all-school assembly. ", Merryn's family, including her two sisters, moved to another neighborhood in the same town when Merryn was 8, and she stopped seeing Ashley. 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. I left all the fragmented sentences, misspelled words, because I wanted readers to hear the voice of a young child.. So far 27 states have passed Erins Law since 2010. 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." 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. She published a book called Bailey No Ordinary Cat that showcases Bailey's unusually gentle interactions with her three children. Erin Merryn testified Tuesday in an Ohio Senate committee about 'Erin's Law.' 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