Merryn was also the owner of the viral Instagram cat, Bailey, until he died in December 2018. Since going public 10 years ago, I have had no contact with him. 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. Survivors need to know they have nothing to be ashamed of. Is there anything about your life circumstances that you think made you a target? Its somebody they know and trust.. I often say victims are those who are killed by their attackers. 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. 2022 Anchorage Daily News. All rights reserved. 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. I also encourage parents to have a code word with their kids, she said. 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. Please join Erin Merryn in her crusade to protect children from sexual abuse and donate to help her with her travel expenses today! It was so brutal I thought I was dying, Merryn, Glamour magazines 2012 Woman of the Year, recalled in an interview with the Asbury Park Press. The ability to forgive both my abusers set me free and gave me my voice back and the strength to speak out for others. In 2009 Texas passed a similar law but it was only a task force which did not mandate students be taught personal body safety, making Illinois the first state to require personal body safety education by law. Merryn's family, including her two sisters, moved to another neighborhood in the same town when Merryn was 8, and she stopped seeing Ashley. 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. She was abused. Im glad he gets body boundaries and safety and Ill be pounding it into his head as long as I can. 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. Illinois is the fifth state to pass Erin's Law since she took up the cause. Merryn: The first thing someone can do is start talking about it. Erin wanted nothing more than to make him feel the hurt that she did. More than 90 percent of children who are sexually abused know their attacker, Bucco said with conviction. 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. Merryn spoke to members of the Ohio Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee of how she was sexually abused as a child. 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 went to bed night after night crying into my pillow having nightmares, and keeping my secrets locked away in my childhood diary., Merryn found her voice at 13 when her younger sister said the words shell never forget: Brians gross!. There, at her friends house, in the middle of the night, she was sexually assaulted by her friends uncle. Her dad singled me out during the party. That happened until I was 13. The law was passed in a number of states,[7] with New York becoming the 37th in 2019. It happened again after we moved away, when a cousin started abusing me in my sleep when I was 11 years old. The place Erin reclaimed her voice and began her journey to healing. Read more about Erin Merryn on her Erin's Law Facebook page and her website. "A Child's Best Defense Is Her Voice. But her parents thought it was because of health problems she was having at the time. So be careful sending little Tommy for ice at the machine down the hall and inform teens who often book motels after prom. He did respond admitting what he did and saying he is using his past to not make the same mistakes now in his life. 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? After Bailey's passing, she adopted a kitten named Carrot. Alaska Dispatch: In your quest to get Erin's Law passed in every state, you must have encountered some surprising remarks. InDecember 2015 President Obama signed thefederal version of Erin's Law providing federal funding for schools to use. Victims are those who don't survive. Get hyperlocal forecasts, radar and weather alerts. You will be believed.. Look out for motels that might house sex offenders. This law requires personal body safety taught to children Pre-K to 12th grade through an age appropriate curriculum. In the wee hours of the night, Ashley's uncle "Richard" (not his real name), who lived in the house with his niece, appeared in the darkened room. 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. ", Merryn's family, including her two sisters, moved to another neighborhood in the same town when Merryn was 8, and she stopped seeing Ashley. 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. Two years later, though,whenErin was 11, she said her older teenage cousin started abusing her too. Merryn didn't tell anyone until she was 13 and she suspected her sister was also being abused. In a Q&A with Alaska Dispatch before boarding her flight north, Merryn wasn't shy about sharing the difficulties she's experienced, including a suicide attempt, or the one thing that happened to make her finally tell someone she was being hurt. Those were just the number of children who broke their silence that year. They talked for hours about what had happened, and the next day told their parents about their shared horror. Then something happened that no one saw coming: he confessed. Erin Merryn is a powerful speaker and advocate for countless, faceless children and adults in our country who have similarly suffered sexual abuse. Erin Merryn (Author) 139 ratings Kindle Edition $17.99 Read with Our Free App Paperback $16.56 16 Used from $11.22 5 New from $45.35 Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. My parents believed me and my cousin Brian confessed to the police, she said. Merryn said the abuse only stopped because her family moved away. Forgiving him allowed me to move forward with my life and decide to no longer let this thing be something I should be ashamed of, no longer allowing it to be a negative in my life, but letting it be a positive.. Alaska Dispatch: You have since spoken up in a big way. I remember being so utterly confused.. After reading that letter, a switch flipped inside Erin. Of course I was asked what I was referring to and I said my cousin Brian has been doing bad things. As an adult, she's reclaimed the voice her. 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. Erin Merryn was an innocent child of six when her best friend asked her to sleepover. Who encouraged you to keep talking, to keep fighting? www.accessonline.com/videos/ellen-degeneres-gives-internet-famous-cat-a-call-in-quarantine, www.rainn.org/news/president-signs-measures-support-state-action-prevent-and-address-child-sexual-abuse, www.accessonline.com/videos/ellen-degeneres-gives-internet-famous-cat-a-call-in-quarantine. Requiring personal body safety education in public schools. 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. Erins Law is a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. Immediately I thought I was being asked this question because she already did not believe me. Innocence lost. Who were they? Sunshine and a few clouds. But nobody asked those important questions. 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 . 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. You have permission to edit this article. 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. You didn't just tell one person. My mission, through this legislation, is to educate children on what I never learned. One thing my abusers kept telling me was that I had no proof that they were hurting me, so why would anyone believe me? 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. 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. Are you afraid you will lose business? How did you find this voice? I continued to write him because I wanted answers. The school, community organization, day care center, etc. 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. He was free, but the rage inside Erin remained. 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 . Erins Law has now going international with judge in Kerala India requiring Erins Law in the 2023-2024 school year. 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. Her name is Erin Merryn and she is the founder of Erins Law. 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. Forgiveness set me free. For so many years I stayed angry and bitter towards him. So before CAC's a child brought to a police station could be filled with anxiety and fear that they are in trouble. Then, after seven months of back-and-forths, he wrote a heartfelt apology to Erin and asking for her forgiveness, but also understanding if she couldnt forgive him. 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, lying next to her with his hands down her underwear. In December 2015, President Obama signed the federal version of Erin's Law providing federal funding toschools to provide this education. Erins ongoing abuse with her friends uncle was over. He knows the parts covered by his underwear and bathing suit arent for anyone to touch or see and he knows who safe people are if he ever needs help with something. If you tell anybody, you will destroy our family, she said.. The parents can then share the information that the schools provided with anyone else in their household. 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? But only 1 in every 10 sexually abused children ever tell anyone about it. 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. Merryn now had a duty as a big sister to protect her younger sibling. Nightmares and flashbacks continued, and she started harming herself. Two days later, their cousin was brought into the police station. 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. Illinois is the first state by law to mandate Erins Law. I really open lawmakers' eyes when I share this with them. The family pressed charges against Brian, who ultimately admitted to three counts of sexual abuse. 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 . The revelation caused tension in the family. MORE: Moms and dads, can we talk about stranger danger? 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. 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. As the abuse continued, and as she was forced to see her abuser over and over again in social situations, she struggled with . 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. Two against one, somebody had to believe us.. Erins Law soon caught on nationwide. Forgiveness is what set me free. CBS News' Reena Ninan visited a public school in Illinois to see how the school teaches kids about safe . She is an activist against child sexual abuse. 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. Merryn: I didn't expect a response back from my cousin because my letter was very harsh filled with so much anger and rage. Call it what it is: penis and vagina.. 46 reviews. Erin said the abuse stopped after her sister spoke up about her own abuse. Merryn says a few months ago, a local . And a third girl I know was also abused by him. 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 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. There are thousands of accused sex offenders every year who are found not guilty living in our communities. Erins Law encourages research based curriculum, Merryn said. 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. Every other headline horrifies the public with another predator taking not just advantage of a child but everything from a child. 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. When Erin Merryn was a child, she was sexually abused by two people she knew and trusted, including a family member. Erin said they just wanted to make sure their nephew got help. The center provided me a safe place to connect with people who understood unlike my friends in school who did not understand what I had gone through. Merryn kept her confusion to herself. 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. Stolen Innocencewas published soon after. Now she's on a quest to make sure lawmakers across America hear what she has to stay. 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. 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! IG: The_Cat_Named_Carrot.Ellen is Carrot's biggest fan. 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. 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