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 the founder of Erin's Law, which requires public schools to teach children personal body safety on the prevention of child sexual ab But instead of telling everyone to vote against it, she told everyone to vote in support of this bill. The reality is, 93 percent of the time it is not strangers that are hurting kids. Call it what it is: penis and vagina.. But what followed was depression,an eating disorder and a suicide attempt. Only this time, the person behind it was her older cousin, a nice young man with a bright future to whom she looked at as the brother she never had.. It happened again after we moved away, when a cousin started abusing me in my sleep when I was 11 years old. The only education I ever received about sexual abuse was when I became a victim, and the abusers threatened bad things would happen if I ever told. Thats precisely why she does what she does. That's where, 14 years ago, a then-13-year-old Erin Merryn first . It was the first time she supported a school mandate, and she retired later that year. Product Details Resources and Downloads Stolen Innocence Triumphing Over a Childhood Broken by Abuse: A Memoir By Erin Merryn Published by Health Communications Inc EB Distributed by Simon & Schuster LIST PRICE $12.99 PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER Get a FREE ebook by joining our mailing list today! Merryn worked with U.S. Erin is a mom to three little girls. Erin Merryn, the bill's namesake and a survivor of sexual abuse, said she is frustrated by the governor's slow response to sign it into law. [3] According to her personal account, she told her parents about the latter after her sister confided that she had also been abused by the same relative. 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. Nightmares and flashbacks continued, and she started harming herself. 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. The voice that was silenced for so long. My question to hotel or motel management would be, Why not tell? Innocence lost. Erin said he would occasionally downplay what he did, but he never denied it. Alaska Dispatch: When you decided to confront and start corresponding with your cousin, how did it go at first? It was the first federal bill passed funding sexual abuse prevention education. 7Erin Merryn is a Woman of the Year because"She's taken her personal crusade and turned it into a public one. Erin Merryn (born February 2, 1985) is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. Pat Quinn on Thursday signed a new law extending sexual abuse education in Illinois schools. Caught you off guard? "I didn't understand what was going on," she says. Merryn kept her confusion to herself. She is an activist against child sexual abuse. Merryn said the abuse only stopped because her family moved away. Alaska Dispatch: Thank you for reminding us that abuse happens across all socioeconomic conditions. What are the most persistent knowledge gaps? Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, I met my best friend in kindergarten. The school, community organization, day care center, etc. I got five sentences to my five pages, but he responded and it opened a door of communication, she said. Forgiveness is what set me free. At age 11, Erin fell victim again. After reading that letter, a switch flipped inside Erin. 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. Here's how to protect your kids from online predators. She is an activist against child sexual abuse. Erin Elizabeth had cheerful holidays turned into a fight to protect herself from evil where she often lost. Merryn: My resilience took a lot of psychological help growing up as a kid, teen, and young adult. The abuse continued until she was almost 9. What once caused her shame, and something she never wanted to talk about, she now found herself wanting to turn it into a book. The next day they told their parents. How do we lessen the control these pressures have on ourselves, our loved ones? Walking up to a door with so many racing thoughts afraid I was not going to be believed, wondering what I was going to be asked, and so ashamed to even think about sharing the dirty secrets. He cornered her in basements, bathrooms and bedrooms, always reminding her that she shouldn't bother telling anyone because no one would believe her. Do you know if it was as healing for him as it was for you? The Church Sex Abuse Scandals Around the World, Child-Abuse Case Reveals Vietnam's Lax Social Services, (Read why most child abuse goes unreported). 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. Merryn said she testified four times for the task force. Choosing to forgive has led me to live for today. She was also afraid she would lose her innocence. Im terribly concerned about that, said OBrien. "A Child's Best Defense Is Her Voice. --TV host Katie Couric, 1992, 2002, and 2006 Woman of the Year.After suffering years of sexual abuse for six years of her childhood Erin broke her silence when she was 13 at a Children's Advocacy Center. The look in this mans eyes, the color shirt he was wearing and the last thing he said to me, Dont you dare tell anybody. She didn't want to stop visiting her friend but tried to find times when Richard wasn't around. Erin Merryn is a powerful speaker and advocate for countless, faceless children and adults in our country who have similarly suffered sexual abuse. [3], She graduated from Schaumburg High School in 2004[4] and earned a Bachelor of Social Work from Western Illinois University in 2008. Visit Amazon.au's Erin Merryn Page and shop for all Erin Merryn books. 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. Erin Merryn is an author (Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, An Unimaginable Act), activist, and founder of Erin's Law. The only difference is now I am running from him in my dreams" (Merryn 49). I came from a good home, two parents, good schools, safe neighborhood, etc. InDecember 2015 President Obama signed thefederal version of Erin's Law providing federal funding for schools to use. 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. Carrot has 281,000 instagram followers. That is just (in) America. 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 . I can remember that as if it happened yesterday. According to Merryn, every school gets the option to pick a Erins Law program, and have an outside agency teach. As I often tell people, our innocence was stolen, (our) trust taken, but the one thing we can reclaim as survivors is our voices. Alaska Dispatch: In your quest to get Erin's Law passed in every state, you must have encountered some surprising remarks. She started by pulling out that 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. Erins ongoing abuse with her friends uncle was over. What's your advice for sexual abuse victims who may want to come forward, but who feel the abuse is better kept secret or forgotten? Merryn: Many don't realize that there are 42 million survivors in America of child sexual abuse. In 2010, Merryn began a crusade to get Erin's Law passed across America. With every passing week, and with every visit, Erin gets closer to her goal. 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. Merryn believes more can be done to ensure children also learn how learn how to protect themselves from sexual predators. Every parent should do their homework before they send their kids anywhere. So, she forgave him. After an evening of playing with Ashley's dollhouse and watching The Little Mermaid, the girls went to bed in Ashley's room. I just wanted to get it over with.She was a forensic interviewer who had been trained to interview children who had reported abuse. The yearly videos had educated me, so I knew to tell the stranger to keep his change. Around the time we were getting ready to move away, my friend had a birthday party. Two against one, somebody had to believe us.. 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? 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. 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. 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 . 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. 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. Two years later, though,whenErin was 11, she said her older teenage cousin started abusing her too. 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. 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. Alaska Dispatch: Do you think most lawmakers meaningfully comprehend the issue of sexual abuse? As a young child from 6 to 8 (years old), when the neighbor was abusing me, he warned me if I told anyone he would come get me; he knew where I lived. 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. My parents believed me and my cousin Brian confessed to the police, she said. When she is traveling to state capitols or speaking engagements she is entertaining her 270,000Instagram followers that follow her famous cat. Read more about Erin Merryn on her Erin's Law Facebook page and her website. Immediately I thought I was being asked this question because she already did not believe me. And a third girl I know was also abused by him. 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. There, at her friends house, in the middle of the night, she was sexually assaulted by her friends uncle. 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. Merryn suffered sexual abuse by a male neighbor at ages six to eight[2] and by a teenage cousin at ages 11 to 13. Author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today Merryn: I have witnessed some lawmakers come in voting against the bill who got on their mic after hearing me testify and (told) me they had all planned to vote against this bill and that my testimony changed their mind. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Sexually abused and raped from age 6-8 by an adult neighbor Erin was threatened to stay silent by her abuser. Erin said the abuse stopped after her sister spoke up about her own abuse. Lawmakers are in the dark about this. Her friend slept through the assault, and Merryn remained silent. The case never went to trial, and Brian received some counseling, but no punishment. Alaska Dispatch: You were preyed upon not once, but twice (two different abusers during different stages of childhood). Well, something shocking happened. We've had an unprecedented change for our Gingerbread House Partners in Prevention 2021 Luncheon and we couldn't be more excited! Erin, a Chicago-area native, first introduced the legislation in Illinois, and the bill was given her namesake. She is the founder of Erin's Law, which requires public schools to teach children personal body safety on the prevention of child sexual abuse. Instead of putting their daughters through further emotional trauma of a criminal trial, Erins parents decided not to press charges. ABC News agreed to use her pen name and a false name for the man she says abused her. Erin's Law has passed in 21 states and is pending in 22 others. While the party was going on, and my friend's mom was in the house, this neighbor cornered me in a bathroom and abused me. This went on for a month before police got involved. But her parents thought it was because of health problems she was having at the time. How did you find this voice? 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. 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. Of course I was asked what I was referring to and I said my cousin Brian has been doing bad things. Alaska Dispatch: When you broke your silence and spoke up, was it frightening? Erin Merryn detailed the treatment and help she received from the Children's Advocacy Center, which has 900 locations across the U.S.A. - a safe environment for children to share their stories of abuse. She published a book called Bailey No Ordinary Cat that showcases Bailey's unusually gentle interactions with her three children. Download it here. Erins Law is a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. 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. One thing my abusers kept telling me was that I had no proof that they were hurting me, so why would anyone believe me? See the sex abuse in Israel's ultra-orthodox community. She also pointed out the real loss of innocence for a child is when they are sexually abused and nothing is done about it. When Erin Merryn was a child, she was sexually abused by two people she knew and trusted, including a family member. EN. From the age of 11 to 13, I was repeatedly sexually abused at the hands of a family member, an older cousin, she said. I will fight alongside Erin and the advocates right here in our community until the day that this lifesaving legislation finally becomes law.. After enduring a childhood filled w. Now, thanks to state Sen. Anthony R. Bucco, children of the Garden State may soon benefit from Merryns harrowing experience, knowledge and hope. I tell parents the best way to talk to kids about this is through the swimsuit lesson, Merryn said. Two of those children were my sister and I. (See Gary Glitter's sex scandal.). No one would believe me, she recalls this man telling her. 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. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. Erin also included the correspondence between her cousin and herself, for readers to also hear the perpetrator's side. So before CAC's a child brought to a police station could be filled with anxiety and fear that they are in trouble. I often say victims are those who are killed by their attackers. 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