MI - Child sex abuse education law passed

Original Article

12/14/2012

LANSING - A law aimed at helping to prevent the sexual abuse of children is on its way to the governor's desk after being passed Friday by the Michigan Legislature.

Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, was one of the sponsors along with Sen. Judy Emmons, R-Sheridan, and Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor.

"Erin's Law" is named after Erin Merryn, a sexual abuse survivor from Illinois whose advocacy in her home state led to passage of a similar law there in 2011. After going public about abuse by a family member, Merryn made it her mission to try to ensure that children have the age-appropriate education so they can recognize and talk about sexual abuse.

Senate Bills 1112 (PDF), 1113 (PDF) and 1114 (PDF) require school boards to adopt and implement policies addressing child sexual abuse and call for creation of a task force to make recommendations on how best to prevent the problem.

Under the law schools can adopt age-appropriate curriculum, train school staff on child sexual abuse and adopt policies concerning informing parents on the warning signs of abuse. Parents are to be made aware of the curriculum and can "opt out" if they do not want their children involved.

Similar laws have been enacted in Maine, Indiana and Missouri, and legislation has been introduced in several other states, including Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania.

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MS - Sex abuse education bill to be introduced

Original Article

This is something all states should be doing instead of passing unconstitutional feel good laws that do nothing to prevent or deter sexual crimes.

10/10/2012

By JB Clark

TUPELO - A law aimed at educating Mississippi's children on identifying and reporting sexual abuse will be introduced into the Mississippi House and Senate during the 2013 legislative session.

The law, Erin's Law, was inspired and spearheaded by Erin Merryn, who has used her own story to help bring up a conversation about sexual abuse in America.

Merryn spoke at Tupelo's Families and Communities Together Conference at First Baptist Church in Tupelo on Tuesday morning, encouraging the audience to push elected officials to pass the law and to talk to children about safe and unsafe touching.

Sen. Nancy Collins, R-Tupelo, and Rep. Tom Miles, D-Forest, will introduce the bill in their respective chambers in the following session.

The model legislation passed in Illinois requires a task force to gather information concerning child sexual abuse in the state, take reports and testimony, create goals for policy that would prevent child sexual abuse and then submit a final report to the Legislature.

The program in schools would focus on increasing teacher, student and parent awareness of issues regarding sexual abuse, talk about actions a child who is a victim can take to get assistance and intervention and point out available counseling options for students affected by sexual abuse.

Merryn said the focus is on age-appropriate education and many organizations already receive federal grants to teach about sexual abuse in schools.

The National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence says one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthday and the Crimes Against Children Research Center Shows 93 percent of those cases are abuse from someone they know and trust. "Only seven percent of the time is it stranger danger," Merryn said.

Merryn spoke about being sexually abused as a child by an authority figure and a family member and not knowing how to tell anyone due to shame and fear of being in trouble. She has used her experiences and books about them as a platform for change.

"We learn tornado drills, bus drills, fire drills, stranger danger, Mr. McGruff, bully intervention, Internet safety - I have my D.A.R.E. graduation card - but what's missing?" Merryn asked Tuesday morning. "I never had to duck and cover or run out of a burning building but I didn't have the words to explain what happened to me. I didn't have a tell, tell, tell drill."

She tells her story in the books "Stolen Innocence" and "Living for Today."

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PA - Bill would teach sexual abuse awareness in schools

Original Article

It's about time. This is something that we've said needed to be done for many years now. Education is the key to putting a dent in sexual abuse, not draconian unconstitutional laws trampling on others rights.

09/20/2012

By Dennis Owens

HARRISBURG (WHTM) - The numbers are staggering: one in four girls and one in seven boys will be sexually abused by the age of 18.

State Representative Mauree Gingrich's bill would require schools, beginning in kindergarten, to teach kids how to recognize sexual abuse and tell someone about it. She knows it's a tough topic for parents.

"All I have to do to move me off the dime to have that conversation is think about some predator rubbing the leg of my granddaughter or six-year-old grandson," Gingrich said.

The legislation is named Erin's Law after Erin Merryn, of Illinois, who was abused by a cousin and an acquaintance as a little girl. She kept their secrets but is now on a mission to help victims find the voice she never could.

"They're getting the message from predators, 'we keep this a secret,'" Merryn said. "They're not getting the other message, 'tell, don't keep this a secret."

The bill (HB-2318) would require age appropriate training for K-8 students in public and private schools. The content would be added to existing and state required health classes so the cost would be minimal. Merryn points out the cost of doing nothing, as Penn State proves, could be far greater.

"In the end, this curriculum on teaching kids how to tell, protecting them before they're even abused, will end up saving millions of other children because as we know these sexual predators do not stop after abusing one kid. They'll get as many kids as they can possibly get until they're caught," she said.

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MI - Legislation being introduced in Michigan to help prevent sex abuse

Original Article

07/18/2012

Today, lawmakers in Michigan consider a tougher new, law designed to prevent child abuse that many other states already have.

Statistics show one out of four girls and one out of seven boys are sexually abused by the age of 18.

Michigan State Senator John Proos of St. Joseph has joined with sex abuse advocate Erin Merryn at the Berrien County Council for Children to help raise awareness about sex abuse.

Merryn is a sex abuse survivor and has made it a mission to help prevent abuse.

Four states, including Indiana, have passed Erin's Law named after Merryn.

Senator Proos and Merryn were scheduled to testify today before a Health Policy Committee in hopes of passing similar legislation in Michigan.

"This is the silent epidemic," said Merryn. "We all look the other way and don't want to address. But the truth of the matter is, this is going on in everybody's backyard."

Under the legislation proposed in Michigan, schools would adopt age appropriate curriculum, train school personnel on child sexual abuse and adopt policies to inform parents on the warning signs of abuse.

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IN - Rogers notes progress of Erin's Law

Video Description:
Senator Earline Rogers (D-Gary) updates constituents on the status of her legislation, Senate Bill 267 (PDF). The bill, referred to as Erin's Law, would enact a program educating youth on the dangers of childhood sexual abuse.

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Erin Merryn - Author, Advocate, Sexual Abuse Victim/Survivor

Video Description:
Erin Merryn is an author, activist, and speaker. She is a survivor of sexual abuse who went on to write her first book "Stolen Innocence" and her second book "Living for Today" she is now the force behind "Erin's Law" that is being passed in several states. Erin shares in this video how forgiveness led her to peace, freedom, and the life she is now living.

Blog | Erin's Law | Facebook | YouTube

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Erin’s Law would mandate sex abuse education

Original Article

We are behind this 100%, and is something that should've been done a long time ago.

11/20/2011

By Robert Harding

Erin Merryn (Facebook) is an author, social worker and has legislation with her name on it that she hopes all 50 states will pass.

That legislation — Erin’s Law (Facebook) — will be introduced in New York next year by area state Sen. David Valesky and fellow Sen. Jeff Klein. New York would be the third state to pass the legislation (if it does so next year), behind Merryn’s home state of Illinois and Missouri.

The law, if approved, would alter the curriculum for child abduction in schools to include child sex abuse prevention. The goal of the legislation is to help provide age appropriate education to children to not only help prevent sexual abuse, but also assist those who have been abused to come forward and seek help.

Merryn’s experiences as a child brought her to this point in her life. She was sexually abused twice as a child by two people she knew. This is not unique to Merryn’s case, as statistics show that in more than 90 percent of child sex abuse cases, the victims know the person abusing them.

As a child, Merryn told me that she did not tell anyone she was being abused until her younger sister told her she was being abused by their cousin — the same cousin who was one of the two people to abuse Merryn. Until that point, she would keep the abuse she suffered a secret in a diary, which would later turn into her first book, “Stolen Innocence.”

During the interview with Merryn, which was conducted before the Penn State and Syracuse University child sex abuse allegations made headlines, she stressed the importance of passing Erin’s Law in New York and educating children about child sex abuse.

“My mission is to get kids to speak up and make the lives of these sexual predators a lot more difficult to get what they’re trying to get done — to stop them in the process of abusing more kids because so many sexual predators can’t stop after one child,” she said.

Merryn said she receives hundreds, if not thousands, of letters. One she mentioned was sent by a Washington man who is being prosecuted for sexually abusing his daughter. He told Merryn that his behavior went too far and he should have sought help, but that he also supports Erin’s Law and hopes that Merryn’s efforts will help educate parents and teachers about how sex offenders keep their child victims silent and the warning signs of child sex abuse.

“It was so intriguing that I’m getting advice from a sex offender on how to protect kids. It’s mind boggling, but it goes to show that I’m even getting feedback from sex offenders who are saying I hope you get this law passed in the state of Washington,” she said.

New York won’t be the only state introducing Erin’s Law in 2012. The legislation will be introduced in at least three other states (Indiana, Minnesota and New Mexico) next year and Merryn said more could introduce the bill.

But she won’t stop there. Her goal is to see every state pass Erin’s Law and, down the road, take her campaign to pass Erin’s Law worldwide.

“I’m not going to stop until I get this law passed in all 50 states,” she said. “After that, I know I’ll move onto bigger things such as getting it passed internationally, reaching out to other countries."

“I will work on this until the day I die. Nothing will stop me from my passion and my purpose of protecting, empowering and educating kids on this.”

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Taking Back My Life Erin Merryn on Montel

Erin Merryn

About the Author:
Erin Merryn (Blog) is the author of Stolen Innocence and Living for Today, memoirs about incest and rape. She graduated in May 2009 with a Master’s degree in Social Work from Aurora University. A leading participant in Take Back the Night, her goal is to raise awareness of abuse in order to end the stigma and silence. Since 2004 she has been traveling across America giving inspirational and motivational speeches at national conferences, community events, Children’s Advocacy Centers, colleges, and high schools. She has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America and Montel Williams. Her writings have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, Daily Herald, and Teen Voices, among others. Erin spends her time between the suburbs of Chicago and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Video Link

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Stolen Innocence

About The Book:
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 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. It wasn't until a traumatic series of events showed her the cost of silence that she chose to speak out-in the process destroying both her family and the last of her innocence.

Through her personal diary, written during the years of her abuse, Erin Merryn shares her journey through pain and confusion to inner strength and, ultimately, forgiveness. Raw, powerful and unflinchingly honest, Stolen Innocence is the inspiring story of one girl's struggle to become a woman, and a bright light on the pain and devastation of abuse.

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Living for Today: From Incest and Molestation to Fearlessness and Forgiveness

About The Book:
Fans of Erin Merryn's heart-wrenching debut memoir Stolen Innocence were left wondering what would become of an emotionally fragile Erin after her confrontation with the reality and repercussions of being a child of incest and molestation. In Living for Today, Erin chronicles how she cultivated the strength to face her abuser and eventually found relief from years of emotional restlessness, while also igniting the beginnings of a new fearless journey. Living for Today chronicles that journey, which began with the unearthing of private shame, releasing of ugly memories, letting go of guilt, and becoming the mouthpiece of millions of her generation.

In Living for Today, anyone who has felt victimized, ashamed, isolated, and silenced by their abusers will receive a roadmap for self-discovery, forgiveness, and empowerment. With real compassion and wisdom, this book can help readers overcome trauma and live fully and fearlessly for today.

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Stolen Innocence: Memoir

About The Book:
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.

It was just the beginning of a long journey. 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.

Through her personal diary, Erin shares her journey to find her inner strength and to move on in life. Erin searches her soul to see if she can ever move on with her life and forgive the man that hurt her.

Stolen Innocence is a disturbing yet inspiring diary that gives you the inside personal life of a survivor of incest.

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