One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused by the time they turn eighteen, but only one in 10 sexually abused children say something. On October 29, Erin Merryn came to Rolling Meadows High School to speak on sexual abuse and her law, Erin’s Law.
Erin’s Law was created in 2011 by Merryn, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Merryn has passed her law in 26 states, and there are seventeen more states that have it pending. This law requires public schools to teach age-appropriate personal body safety and inform students, staff and parents about how to identify the signs of sexual abuse. A part of the law’s curriculum also encourages victims to not be afraid to speak up.
Erin Merryn was only 6-years-old when she began to be sexually abused. She was repeatedly told that no one would believe her. When she moved away from this abuser, Erin started being sexually assaulted by a cousin. It went on for years until she realized her younger sister was also a victim of this abuse.
“Nobody was educating me on how to speak up and tell [someone],” Merryn said. “The only message I got was from the perpetrator and that was to stay silent, so I stayed silent and didn’t tell anyone.”
She has now made it her mission to speak for the sexual abuse survivors who have been silenced. However, passing a bill on such a sensitive subject is not an easy process. Merryn travels from state to state to speak to legislators on Erin’s law in order to get it passed in each state.
“I‘m traveling across the country to put a voice on this issue and educating people on the importance of what Erin’s Law does and how it protects kids,” Merryn said.
The reason Merryn has to go state to state to testify her law is because education bills cannot be mandated at the federal level. Luckily, this year, a federal bill has been created that will help fund Erin’s Law.
“When it comes to mandating curriculum, there can be a mandated bill that can get passed that will bring funding for the law,” Merryn said. “That will allow schools to purchase curriculum, bring in outside speakers, speak on Erin’s Law, educate the kids [and] train the staff, so this bill is crucial.”
After five years of testifying on behalf of her bill, Merryn has come a long way from the high schooler who published her childhood diary. She has faced many hardships throughout her life, but she has always stood up for what she believes in.
“I always knew that somebody would be saved from this, and I always said if just one child in the state of Illinois… finds their voice—after three years of going to our lawmakers and testifying to them four times—if just one child found their voice, it was worth all of my hard work,” Merryn said.