The only message I got as a child came from my abusers and that was to stay silent or else, she said. It was the first federal bill passed funding sexual abuse prevention education. The areas covered by your swimsuit are not for anyone to be touching, unless mommy and daddy are helping you with a bath. But only 1 in every 10 sexually abused children ever tell anyone about it. Alaska Dispatch: You were preyed upon not once, but twice (two different abusers during different stages of childhood). The shame is so overwhelming. 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. After an evening of playing with Ashley's dollhouse and watching The Little Mermaid, the girls went to bed in Ashley's room. Sunshine and a few clouds. The instruction will be provided by a school nurse who has completed professional development sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention. (See Gary Glitter's sex scandal.). "Alabama needs this law because just like everywhere else in America . Eventually, her parents and sisters moved to another town, closer to family. Maryland is the latest state, joining the crusade last month. He doesnt sleep out ever. She has now dedicated her life to protecting our nations children. Erin Merryn testified Tuesday in an Ohio Senate committee about 'Erin's Law.' But at age 11, Merryn's second nightmare began. 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. 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. Every parent should do their homework before they send their kids anywhere. 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. The case never went to trial, and Brian received some counseling, but no punishment. Pat Quinn on Thursday signed a new law extending sexual abuse education in Illinois schools. One thing my abusers kept telling me was that I had no proof that they were hurting me, so why would anyone believe me? There are thousands of accused sex offenders every year who are found not guilty living in our communities. Senator Gillibrand on the federal version of Erin's Law to give federal funding to the law, and in December 2015 President Obama signed the federal version of Erin's Law under the Every Student Succeeds Act. (2013) My abuse first happened at weeks shy of my seventh birthday by a neighbor it went on until age 8 and a half. A safe touch could be a high five or hug and an unsafe touch is someone touching you in the areas covered by your swimsuit, or your private parts, Merryn said. Motel management is NOT obligated to tell guests sex offenders are next door. 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. 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 . Erin decided at a young age to take a stand against evil and expose the silent epidemic of child sexual abuse in the spotlight. Who encouraged you to keep talking, to keep fighting? 2022 Anchorage Daily News. "(It) brings me back to remembering being six-years-old being abused. I didnt want to talk to anyone about this. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. Says Merryn: "[Ashley] made me pinky promise not to say anything. 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. Erin Merryn speaks with enthusiasm, rattling off the list of trips around the globe, the hours of research and meetings promoting her cause. Her dad had to sit down and have a tough conversation with his sister, and denial followed. Realizing I was not a fault and learning to let go of the guilt. I also tell parents don't give childrens private parts pet names. I also encourage parents to have a code word with their kids, she said. He continued to abuse her on and off for nearly two years, she says, often at holidays and celebrations with her close-knit extended family. Later, just weeks before her seventh birthday, she was raped by the same man. 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. Merryn: Yes. Wow, I have a decision to make. We've had an unprecedented change for our Gingerbread House Partners in Prevention 2021 Luncheon and we couldn't be more excited! 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 . 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." No one would believe me, she recalls this man telling her. I am a survivor. COURIER/JOELLYN CURRY Erin said the abuse stopped after her sister spoke up about her own abuse. 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. So, she forgave him. 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 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." According to the Office of the Monmouth County Prosecutors website, the only time that Megans Law information will be released to parents or families of students is if the school receives a Tier III high risk notice concerning an offender living within a 1,000-foot radius of their location. She knew exactly what she was doing by asking simple questions on my life, friends, what I did for fun, and my family. The two continued to correspond for seven months. The abuse went on for years. Forgiveness is what set me free. I was a senior in high school when I published my first book, my childhood diary where I kept my secrets of abuse with my cousin locked away. Merryn said the abuse only stopped because her family moved away. As an adult, she's reclaimed the voice her abusers tried to silence. Eleven states have passed the legislation. The law has now passed in 37 states. Merryn was also the owner of the viral Instagram cat, Bailey, until he died in December 2018. Erin Merryn is an author, activist, speaker, wife, and mom to young human children and a fur baby named Bailey. IG: The_Cat_Named_Carrot.Ellen is Carrot's biggest fan. She also wantsteachers andstafftrained on the topic. Merryn says her abuse ended when the family moved to a new neighborhood, Schaumburg, Illinois but she took her secret with her. This representative did get on her mic. She was also afraid she would lose her innocence. The man had threatened Merryn that hed hurt her more if she told anyone. 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 . Bad things happen to children all the time. The Church Sex Abuse Scandals Around the World, Child-Abuse Case Reveals Vietnam's Lax Social Services, (Read why most child abuse goes unreported). Immediately I thought I was being asked this question because she already did not believe me. 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. 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. Unthinkable acts. From the time my son Jack was around 3, I began having the private parts talk with him. She has made it her mission in life to get this legislation passed in all 50 states. 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? Buccos legislation has received support from prominent victims rights advocates and support organizations, including Morris County advocate Richard Pompelio; and Patrice Lenowitz, founder and executive director of The Nurtured Parent Support Group for Survivors of Domestic Abuse, a Bergen County organization serving survivors and protective parents across the state. I finally got, after seven months, what I had been looking for: an apology. In 2013 Governor Quinn signed Erins Law mandating child sexual abuse education in all Illinois public schools. 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. As for Merryn, today shes married, the mother of an almost 2 year old, and expecting her second child in eight weeks. CBN News Self - Children's Advocate. Merryn believes more can be done to ensure children also learn how learn how to protect themselves from sexual predators. According to Merryn, every school gets the option to pick a Erins Law program, and have an outside agency teach. Merryn travels the country advocating for children who are victims of sexual assault. The cousin used the same tactic as her first abuser telling her no one would believe her and there was no proof. I wish I could say that Erins story is uncommon, but that is far from the truth its happening right here in our own backyard, Bucco said. 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." 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. 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 . She is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for . Im terribly concerned about that, said OBrien. Around the time we were getting ready to move away, my friend had a birthday party. Merryn says starting when she was six, she was sexually abused by a neighbor, then at 11 by an older cousin. When Merryn eventually confided in Ashley about what had happened, her friend was not surprised; in fact, the scene was depressingly familiar to her. 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 spoke to members of the Ohio Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee of how she was sexually abused as a child. Merryn's family, including her two sisters, moved to another neighborhood in the same town when Merryn was 8, and she stopped seeing Ashley. Merryn lay on blankets on the floor next to Ashley, who was in her bed. [7] She published her diary detailing her cousin's abuse and her own recovery, relapse and reconciliation in book form as Stolen Innocence in 2005. Before . Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. I think he knew that once he had us conditioned, we were easy targets. Then something happened that no one saw coming: he confessed. Little did I know by moving I was getting that much closer to my next abuser. 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. 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. Erin Merryn was an innocent child of six when her best friend asked her to sleepover. 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 just wanted to get it over with.She was a forensic interviewer who had been trained to interview children who had reported abuse. Read more about Erin Merryn on her Erin's Law Facebook page and her website. Confronting him empowered me and eventually allowed me to forgive him when he wrote a letter apologizing. Erin Merryn is among the many that came across the story. Now, thanks to state Sen. Anthony R. Bucco, children of the Garden State may soon benefit from Merryns harrowing experience, knowledge and hope. 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. She didn't want to stop visiting her friend but tried to find times when Richard wasn't around. Learn More. She is an activist against child sexual abuse. Instead I am still running from Brian. The only difference is now I am running from him in my dreams" (Merryn 49). The same year I was born in 1985 was the first year the development of the first CAC in America was born in Alabama. COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio Senate is considering a bill to teach elementary, middle and high school students how to protect themselves from sexual predators. 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. Is there anything about your life circumstances that you think made you a target? As I describe in my books, that center was the foundation of my healing. (2013) CNN Newsroom Self - Child Abuse Survivor. 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. Im very concerned about the possibility of grooming or the losing the innocence of our young children. However, she said theabuseand rape continueduntil she was almost nine. 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. 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. Merryn says a few months ago, a local . 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. 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. He threatened her to stay silent so she kept her secrets locked away in her childhood diary. More than 90 percent of children who are sexually abused know their attacker, Bucco said with conviction. The path to justice for survivors of sexual assault is not an easy road. Alaska Dispatch: In your quest to get Erin's Law passed in every state, you must have encountered some surprising remarks. 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. 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. 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 years later, though,whenErin was 11, she said her older teenage cousin started abusing her too. My name is Erin Merryn and I am a survivor of child sexual abuse. I am so confident I will get this law passed in all 50 states, because God has already told me it will happen. Childhood sexual abuse survivor turned author, speaker, child advocate and activist Erin Merryn is the founder and president of Erins Law. Get hyperlocal forecasts, radar and weather alerts. See her personal website at ErinMerryn.net Sexually abused and raped from age 6-8 by an adult neighbor Erin was threatened to stay silent by her abuser. Erin also included the correspondence between her cousin and herself, for readers to also hear the perpetrator's side. One day, a particular entry she wrote caught her eye. The reality is, 93 percent of the time it is not strangers that are hurting kids. How do you identify? Sponsored by Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, HB 233 puts Alaska among the states considering "Erin's Law" in 2014. 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. Erin Merryn (born February 2, 1985) is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. Requiring personal body safety education in public schools. So be careful sending little Tommy for ice at the machine down the hall and inform teens who often book motels after prom. CBS News' Reena Ninan visited a public school in Illinois to see how the school teaches kids about safe . It turned out cousin Brian was abusing Merryns little sister, too. 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. 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. Alaska Dispatch: When you decided to confront and start corresponding with your cousin, how did it go at first? She earned a master's degree from Aurora University in social work. For so many years I stayed angry and bitter towards him. My second abuser, my cousin, came from a family of all boys. She is an activist against child sexual abuse. In her diary Erin Merryn reveals how her life was transformed one night when, as an eleven-year-old, she was sexually abused in her grandparents condo by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. 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 day I left that place I took a piece of my life back, and that was my voice. I found hope and healing there and people that believed me. In just a few short years, she has already persuaded half the countryto pass similar versions of the law. Erin wanted nothing more than to make him feel the hurt that she did. Alaska Dispatch: Would something like what you are proposing -- Erin's Law -- have helped you? Vermont State Board of Education has required it in schools since 2009. Choosing to forgive has led me to live for today. It was a detailed account of how an officer came to her school to talk about stranger danger. A week later, she got a reply. Merryn now had a duty as a big sister to protect her younger sibling. Details Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. People would be amazed how many people this really does affect and that they know but have never come forward. Chris Newlin - National Children's Advocacy Center Forgiving him did not mean what he did was right, she stressed. Statistics show that one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused by the age of 18. And for the next year and a half, repeatedly told me, This is our little secret. He sat down in front of Merryn and put his finger to his lips signaling her to remain quiet. That happened until I was 13. He was free, but the rage inside Erin remained. Erin said they just wanted to make sure their nephew got help. The family pressed charges against Brian, who ultimately admitted to three counts of sexual abuse. She began to think about all the other prevention classes and drills she learned in school: how to say no to drugs, what to do in case of a fire, what to do in case of a tornado, how to never answer the door if parents arent home. Merryn is an author, activist, and founder of Erin's Law. He got us quiet and continued to get away with it. So far 27 states have passed Erins Law since 2010. 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. But what followed was depression,an eating disorder and a suicide attempt. Victims are those who don't survive. 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.

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