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. Visiting Alaska this week, Erin Merryn is a long way from home, and even farther from the torturous past she endured as a sexually abused child. Names were the only thing she changed. 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." 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. She urged kids to come forward if they or someone they know is being sexually abused. 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. Unfortunately for many survivors they never see their perpetrators held accountable. Motel management is NOT obligated to tell guests sex offenders are next door. The Children's Advocacy Center of Northwest Cook County, Ill. (there are 900 of these centers across America in every state), helped give me the courage in my forensic interview after my sister and I broke our silence to tell what had happened. 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. She published a book called Bailey No Ordinary Cat that showcases Bailey's unusually gentle interactions with her three children. That is just (in) America. Vermont State Board of Education has required it in schools since 2009. Says Merryn: "[Ashley] made me pinky promise not to say anything. Chris Newlin - National Children's Advocacy Center Merryn advocates for sexual abuse victims. In December 2015, President Obama signed the federal version of Erin's Law providing federal funding toschools to provide this education. Merryn travels the country advocating for children who are victims of sexual assault. Alaska Dispatch: When you broke your silence and spoke up, was it frightening? Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. As I often tell people, our innocence was stolen, (our) trust taken, but the one thing we can reclaim as survivors is our voices. My mission, through this legislation, is to educate children on what I never learned. I got five sentences to my five pages, but he responded and it opened a door of communication, she said. Nightmares and flashbacks continued, and she started harming herself. The case never went to trial, and Brian received some counseling, but no punishment. 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! Forgiving him did not mean what he did was right, she stressed. 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. 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. 4 mos. 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." Alaska Dispatch: Let's talk about two words we hear a lot when covering sexual abuse stories: victim and survivor. The only message I got as a child came from my abusers and that was to stay silent or else, she said. Merryn's family, including her two sisters, moved to another neighborhood in the same town when Merryn was 8, and she stopped seeing Ashley. 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. Merryn: The first thing someone can do is start talking about it. Merryn now had a duty as a big sister to protect her younger sibling. She earned a master's degree from Aurora University in social work. 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. I sat next to a woman who I had just met moments earlier in the waiting room with my sister and mom. 2019 TIME USA, LLC. I really open lawmakers' eyes when I share this with them. Sharing those details can be difficult because as survivors, they bring us back to the place where we endured the horror. 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." I think he knew that once he had us conditioned, we were easy targets. Sexually abused and raped from age 6-8 by an adult neighbor Erin was threatened to stay silent by her abuser. I always feared he would come back. 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. 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. No one is allowed in the bathroom with you not even your friend. Sexually abused as a. Erins ongoing abuse with her friends uncle was over. The Children's Advocacy Center of Northwest Cook County Illinois. 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. Later, just weeks before her seventh birthday, she was raped by the same man. Erin's Law is the first US child sexual abuse prevention education law requiring children be educated in schools. will then mail or hand the parents or responsible adult family member the Megans Law information. House Bill 105 overwhelminglypassed the Ohio Housea year ago. The law has now passed in 37 states. 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. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Alaska Dispatch: You were preyed upon not once, but twice (two different abusers during different stages of childhood). So I stayed silent. Im very concerned about the possibility of grooming or the losing the innocence of our young children. Choosing to forgive has led me to live for today.. One day, a particular entry she wrote caught her eye. Erin Merryn, a sexual abuse survivor, applauds Stewart for making her story public. Childhood sexual abuse survivor turned author, speaker, child advocate and activist Erin Merryn is the founder and president of Erin's Law. Erin Merryn is an author, activist, speaker, wife, and mom to young human children and a fur baby named Bailey. Alaska's version of Erin's Law is currently under consideration by the Alaska State Legislature as House Bill 233. Illinois is the first state by law to mandate Erins Law. She has made it her mission in life to get this legislation passed in all 50 states. 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. We simply cannot stand by and allow these innocent kids to feel ashamed and live in fear at the hands of their abuser. Survivors need to know they have nothing to be ashamed of. See her personal website at ErinMerryn.net. Innocence lost. Child molestation is an epidemic that needs to end now. Merryn's experiences belie the more common parental fears of "stranger danger." My parents believed me and my cousin Brian confessed to the police, she said. Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. 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. She is the founder of Erin's Law, which is a group advocating for child sexual abuse awareness. 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. Merryn says starting when she was six, she was sexually abused by a neighbor, then at 11 by an older cousin. But where were the eight ways on how to "get away and tell today?" 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. When I was six years old, I was sexually abused at a neighbor's house. 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. I will fight alongside Erin and the advocates right here in our community until the day that this lifesaving legislation finally becomes law.. Erin Merryn speaks with enthusiasm, rattling off the list of trips around the globe, the hours of research and meetings promoting her cause. In 2010, Merryn began a crusade to get Erin's Law passed across America. She is dedicated to taking the stigma and shame away from sexual abuse and giving survivors the courage to speak up as she has. Her dad singled me out during the party. Merryn said she was never taught to speak up about it, so shekept it a secret. 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. Erin said the abuse stopped after her sister spoke up about her own abuse. Read more about Erin Merryn on her Erin's Law Facebook page and her website. It happened again after we moved away, when a cousin started abusing me in my sleep when I was 11 years old. Merryn spoke to members of the Ohio Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee of how she was sexually abused as a child. I wanted to know why, and when I asked if he was abused, he denied it and said he abused me out of curiosity and an urge of sexuality. Acting out both at home and in school, she was given an IEP (Individual Education Plan) and was told she was just going through a phase; that her parents brief separation was the probable root cause. But when it came to being sexually abused, there was nothing. Eventually though the conversation has to shift and that question that I will never forget. (2013) 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. The founder of Erin's Law. Erins Law soon caught on nationwide. Erin is a mom to three little girls. 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. Erin says she believes everyone is born with a purpose and she has found hers through the events that have occurred in her life. They dont warn us about our own family, they dont teach us that in school, her age 12 entry stated. 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. Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. It can happen to anyone, which is why we need to empower our children with their voice to speak up and tell and to not keep it a secret if they are abused. 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. Who encouraged you to keep talking, to keep fighting? I was abused. 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. Alaska Dispatch: Thank you for reminding us that abuse happens across all socioeconomic conditions. Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. 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. 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. Pat Quinn on Thursday signed a new law extending sexual abuse education in Illinois schools. ", Merryn's family, including her two sisters, moved to another neighborhood in the same town when Merryn was 8, and she stopped seeing Ashley. Thinking she had finally escaped the endless sexual abuse, Merryn, the keynote speaker at the Sept. 26 luncheon, was once again sexually abused by a cousin beginning at the age of 11 at a family home in Lake Geneva. Merryn: There is so much shame and stigma attached to sexual abuse. For so many years I stayed angry and bitter towards him. 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. 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. Her older cousin sexually abused her from 11-13 years old. She wanted him to know how much his actions had affected her life. They talked for hours about what had happened, and the next day told their parents about their shared horror. Use safe and unsafe touch. (See Gary Glitter's sex scandal.). When I look at you, I see nothing but scum. It brings it all back to the surface. The woman behind the bill, Erin Merryn visited Paul V. Moore High School in Central Square on Friday, making it [] CENTRAL SQUARE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) Erin's Law its now in 37 states . The first abuser, our neighbor, is someone I think who did this to any girl he had access to. This fundraiser is organized by Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (Caase). Jill Burke is a former writer and columnist for Alaska Dispatch News. He was given probation and counseling., Forgiveness is what set me free, she said. There are thousands of accused sex offenders every year who are found not guilty living in our communities. Soon it was no longer our secret and I was behind a different closed door not the one to a bedroom, a bathroom, basement, or closet but this time into a colorful room with a small table and bright light shinning through the skylight. 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. Merryn: I was terrified. She wasn't always successful. Erins Law encourages research based curriculum, Merryn said. 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 Maryland is the latest state, joining the crusade last month. Of course I was asked what I was referring to and I said my cousin Brian has been doing bad things. 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. This law could have given me the ability to know I would be believed, that this is not a secret to keep, and how to report it. 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. Learn More. As the abuse continued, and as she was forced to see her abuser over and over again in social situations, she struggled with . She is the force behind passing Erin's Law across America. Now she's on a quest to make sure lawmakers across America hear what she has to stay. Erin said he would occasionally downplay what he did, but he never denied it. Erin Merryn (born February 2, 1985) is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. At first, it happened when she was babysitting her younger cousins and their older brother would arrive home before their mother. All rights reserved. After an evening of playing with Ashley's dollhouse and watching The Little Mermaid, the girls went to bed in Ashley's room. She explained to her cousin that she didnt want to publish it out of revenge, rather to help the millions of other sexual assault survivors. Thats precisely why she does what she does. You will be believed.. How did you find this voice? 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. 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. (2016) Consider This Self - Author and Children's Advocate. 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. Children learn all kinds of safety lessons in schools, like how to deal with natural disasters, fires and strangers. Sexually abused and raped from age 6-8 by an adult neighbor Erin was threatened to stay silent by her abuser. 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. It was the first time she supported a school mandate, and she retired later that year. That is what brought Erin to tell her story at Metamora Township High School last Monday afternoon, during an all-school assembly. However, she said theabuseand rape continueduntil she was almost nine. See the sex abuse in Israel's ultra-orthodox community. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images) 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. With every passing week, and with every visit, Erin gets closer to her goal. I am a survivor. 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. In 2014 People magazine named her one of fifteen women changing the world along with Oprah and Hillary Clinton. The Church Sex Abuse Scandals Around the World, Child-Abuse Case Reveals Vietnam's Lax Social Services, (Read why most child abuse goes unreported). She has now dedicated her life to protecting our nations children. 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. Eleven states have passed the legislation. 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