However, she said theabuseand rape continueduntil she was almost nine. 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. Merryn says her abuse ended when the family moved to a new neighborhood, Schaumburg, Illinois but she took her secret with her. Anyone who has felt victimized, ashamed, isolated, and silenced by their abusers will receive a road-map in the book for self-discovery, forgiveness, and empowerment to overcome trauma and live fully and fearlessly for today. 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. Merryn says starting when she was six, she was sexually abused by a neighbor, then at 11 by an older cousin. Innocence lost. CBS News' Reena Ninan visited a public school in Illinois to see how the school teaches kids about safe . Children learn all kinds of safety lessons in schools, like how to deal with natural disasters, fires and strangers. ABC News agreed to use her pen name and a false name for the man she says abused her. EN RU CN DE ES. Here's How We Amplify It | National Children's Alliance", "Erin Merryn Fights for Law to Help Child Sexual Assault Victims", "Erin's Law: When the Abuser Is No Stranger", "State Senate Passes Erin Merryn's Law Aimed at Child Sex Abuse Prevention", "Survivor Recalls Alleged Incest in Book", "Child Sexual Abuse Survivor Gets Law Passed", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Erin_Merryn&oldid=1132623568, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 9 January 2023, at 19:15. tax-exempt 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. 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. As the abuse continued, and as she was forced to see her abuser over and over again in social situations, she struggled with . Merryn cautions that you can never just go by how many registered sex offenders are in your area. The next steps for the bill remain unknown. Her older cousin sexually abused her from 11-13 years old. There, at her friends house, in the middle of the night, she was sexually assaulted by her friends uncle. Merryn was as bewildered as she was frightened. See her personal website at ErinMerryn.net. Did you ever wonder, or ever ask him, why he did what he did? Merryn: Many don't realize that there are 42 million survivors in America of child sexual abuse. 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. Erin said he would occasionally downplay what he did, but he never denied it. Of course I was asked what I was referring to and I said my cousin Brian has been doing bad things. 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 . Merryn: What caused me to come forward was unfortunately finding out that my little sister was also being abused. Erin wanted nothing more than to make him feel the hurt that she did. Eventually, her parents and sisters moved to another town, closer to family. 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 was told repeatedly by my cousin that I had no proof, that he would deny it, that no one would believe me. Unthinkable acts. Her dad singled me out during the party. Donors may not deduct contributions made to Erins Law under IRC Section 170 (c) (2). The man had threatened Merryn that hed hurt her more if she told anyone. I left all the fragmented sentences, misspelled words, because I wanted readers to hear the voice of a young child.. Merryn said the abuse only stopped because her family moved away. Erin Merryn Mar 2004 - Present18 years 7 months Chicago, IL Erin is an author, writer, and activist. 2019 TIME USA, LLC. "Erin Merryn's Law," a bill that will create a task force to study child sexual abuse in West Virginia, passed the state Senate unanimously on Monday. She is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for . 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! 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. When I look at you, I see nothing but scum. Through her personal diary, written during the years of her abuse, Erin shares her journey through pain and confusion to inner strength and, ultimately, forgiveness. I always feared he would come back. Stolen Innocencewas published soon after. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. 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. Realizing I was not a fault and learning to let go of the guilt. Now I have somebody I love and trust abusing me," Merryn said. "Alabama needs this law because just like everywhere else in America . Confronting him empowered me and eventually allowed me to forgive him when he wrote a letter apologizing. I often say victims are those who are killed by their attackers. The areas covered by your swimsuit are not for anyone to be touching, unless mommy and daddy are helping you with a bath. Putting the lives of children in danger and possibly taking their innocence is worth it? Merryn: I was terrified. You will be believed.. So many children will be protected because of her." will then mail or hand the parents or responsible adult family member the Megans Law information. My second abuser, my cousin, came from a family of all boys. But instead of telling everyone to vote against it, she told everyone to vote in support of this bill. Erin Merryn (born February 2, 1985) is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. Read more about Erin Merryn on her Erin's Law Facebook page and her website. He doesnt sleep out ever. I feel it would have given me the voice that these men took from me. Merryn: Yes. 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. Instead I am still running from Brian. It wasnt until Erin was 13 and found out the same thing was happening to her little sister (then age 11), that she decided she needed to speak out. 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. And a third girl I know was also abused by him. As I often tell people, our innocence was stolen, (our) trust taken, but the one thing we can reclaim as survivors is our voices. Merryn is now taking her fight to the state of Alabama. 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. But nobody asked those important questions. 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. Choosing to forgive has led me to live for today. This representative did get on her mic. Merryn is an author, activist, and founder of Erin's Law. 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 . Child molestation is an epidemic that needs to end now. Maryland is the latest state, joining the crusade last month. I remember reading this thinking, they dont teach us that in school. But at age 11, Merryn's second nightmare began. Merryn kept her confusion to herself. Merryn realized he had been molesting her sister too. 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. 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 . 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. Erin Merryn testified Tuesday in an Ohio Senate committee about 'Erin's Law.' 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. As an adult, she's reclaimed the voice her. A week later, she got a reply. Illinois is the fifth state to pass Erin's Law since she took up the cause. Merryn successfully passed it in her state of Illinois in 2013 and has been traveling from one state capital to another testifying to state lawmakers to . Erin's Law is the first US child sexual abuse prevention education law requiring children be educated in schools. [5] It is currently passed in 37 states as of January 2021. That is what brought Erin to tell her story at Metamora Township High School last Monday afternoon, during an all-school assembly. Merryn suffered sexual abuse by a male neighbor at ages six to eight[2] and by a teenage cousin at ages 11 to 13. Merryn didn't tell anyone until she was 13 and she suspected her sister was also being abused. But what followed was depression,an eating disorder and a suicide attempt. Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Unfortunately for many survivors they never see their perpetrators held accountable. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two daughters. We've had an unprecedented change for our Gingerbread House Partners in Prevention 2021 Luncheon and we couldn't be more excited! 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. Meanwhile, the survivor who came up with the idea aftersufferingher own personal horrors shared her story with senators Tuesday. Now, thanks to state Sen. Anthony R. Bucco, children of the Garden State may soon benefit from Merryns harrowing experience, knowledge and hope. So before CAC's a child brought to a police station could be filled with anxiety and fear that they are in trouble. Who were they? Her name is Erin Merryn and she is the founder of Erins Law. 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." JANESVILLE, Wis. (WMTV) - Illinois woman Erin Merryn spoke in Wisconsin Wednesday, pushing the state to pass the law in her namesake that aims to protect children and prevent child sexual abuse. Sexually abused and raped from age 6-8 by an adult neighbor Erin was threatened to stay silent by her abuser. Merryn said she was never taught to speak up about it, so shekept it a secret. How? Meetings between the two families were called to sort out the problem, to no avail. See all See top. 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. In 2010, Merryn began a crusade to get Erin's Law passed across America. Chris Newlin - National Children's Advocacy Center At first, it happened when she was babysitting her younger cousins and their older brother would arrive home before their mother. My sister and I told our parents the next day (and) we were referred to the Children's Advocacy Center by police detectives to be interviewed. He cornered her in basements, bathrooms and bedrooms, always reminding her that she shouldn't bother telling anyone because no one would believe her. Im very concerned about the possibility of grooming or the losing the innocence of our young children. 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. 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 terrible secret. Requiring personal body safety education in public schools. They never came, so I stayed silent. He was free, but the rage inside Erin remained. So, she forgave him. No one is allowed in the bathroom with you not even your friend. Erin Merryn, A Voice for the Voiceless. 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. Erin endured the abuse from age 6 to 8 and from 11 to 13 and felt the long-lasting effects of her guilt, shame and loss of innocence. Its word for word my diary from the ages of 10 until my senior year of high school. 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. At age 11, Erin fell victim again. Illinois is the first state by law to mandate Erins Law. Sharing those details can be difficult because as survivors, they bring us back to the place where we endured the horror. Sunshine and a few clouds. But both she and her sister did tell their stories. Thirty-seven states have passed Erins Law and Merryn has tried three times in seven years to get the bill passed in Ohio. People would be amazed how many people this really does affect and that they know but have never come forward. I think he knew that once he had us conditioned, we were easy targets. 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. Are you afraid you will lose business? 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." 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. Silence Broken and Stigmas Shattered -- Help for Incest Survivors Is Here Fans of Erin Merryn's heart-wrenching debut memoir Stolen Innocence were left wondering at the end what would become of an emotionally fragile Erin after her confrontation with the reality of being a child of incest and molestation. 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. It brings it all back to the surface. Vermont State Board of Education has required it in schools since 2009. 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. Therapists (and) an amazing school psychologist in high school really helped me heal. My mission, through this legislation, is to educate children on what I never learned. As a result, she has been interviewed by many major news organizations and TV programs beginning in 2006, on Good Morning America, Oprah, CNN, Today Show, Fox, Katie Couric, Nightline, TLC, OWN, MSNBC, People Magazine, Time Magazine, Glamour Magazine, USA Today, London Times, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and dozens more local media. I got five sentences to my five pages, but he responded and it opened a door of communication, she said. No one would believe me, she recalls this man telling her. Unfortunately, children who are abused once are at even higher risk of being abused again by someone else because they are vulnerable and easy to prey on. They talked for hours about what had happened, and the next day told their parents about their shared horror. But her parents thought it was because of health problems she was having at the time. Merryn: This wasn't bad luck. [8] In November 2009, she published a second book, Living For Today, discussing earlier abuse by her neighbor. Erin Merryn (born February 2, 1985) is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act. Erins Law soon caught on nationwide. That happened until I was 13. The next day they told their parents. My parents believed me and my cousin Brian confessed to the police, she said. Named by PEOPLE Magazine a HEROES Among us and one of fifteen women changing the world. I found hope and healing there and people that believed me. 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 Alaska Dispatch: When you decided to confront and start corresponding with your cousin, how did it go at first? But where were the eight ways on how to "get away and tell today?" Survivors need to know they have nothing to be ashamed of. There was one good thing about my sister coming forward, she said. 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. With every passing week, and with every visit, Erin gets closer to her goal. 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. [3], She graduated from Schaumburg High School in 2004[4] and earned a Bachelor of Social Work from Western Illinois University in 2008. 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. This decision has brought her on a crusade across America to pass what is known as Erin's Law. If someone ever does touch you in those areas, you tell immediately., Merryn suggests the books The Swimsuit Lesson and The Right Touch.. I continued to write him because I wanted answers. 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 terrible secret. 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. One thing my abusers kept telling me was that I had no proof that they were hurting me, so why would anyone believe me? The abuse went on for years. She now runs Carrot's Instagram and shares pictures of Carrot sharing a similar demeanor of her previously owned cat, Bailey. Little did I know by moving I was getting that much closer to my next abuser. What factors came together for you to be able to not only overcome what happened, but to also thrive? Do you still stay in contact with him? Two days later, their cousin was brought into the police station. What do you think made him want to apologize, finally? I also encourage parents to have a code word with their kids, she said. 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. My abuse first happened at weeks shy of my seventh birthday by a neighbor it went on until age 8 and a half. 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. She knew exactly what she was doing by asking simple questions on my life, friends, what I did for fun, and my family. Merryn advocates for sexual abuse victims. It turned out cousin Brian was abusing Merryns little sister, too. I remember being so utterly confused.. Choosing to forgive has led me to live for today.. She published a book called Bailey No Ordinary Cat that showcases Bailey's unusually gentle interactions with her three children. 7Erin Merryn is a Woman of the Year because"She's taken her personal crusade and turned it into a public one. 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 states have passed the legislation. 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. 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