Erin Merryn

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. She is an activist against child sexual abuse as well as the founder of Erin's Law, which requires public schools to teach children personal body safety in order to prevent child sexual abuse. Erin's Law was the first law passed in the United States requiring sexual abuse prevention education to be taught to students in school every year, and it was subsequently passed in 37 U.S. states before being signed into federal law. Merryn is a national spokesperson for the National Children's Alliance, becoming the first survivor of child sexual abuse that went through a Children's Advocacy Center to speak on national television about her experience.^[1]

Merryn was also the owner of the viral Instagram cat, Bailey, until he died in December 2018. She published a book called “Bailey No Ordinary Cat” that showcases Bailey's unusually gentle interactions with her three children. After Bailey's passing, she adopted a kitten named Carrot. She now runs Carrot's Instagram and shares pictures of Carrot sharing a similar demeanor of her previously owned cat, Bailey. Carrot has 270,000 instagram followers.

Background[]

Merryn suffered sexual abuse by a male neighbor at ages six to eight^[2] and by a teenage cousin at ages 11 to 13.^[3] According to her personal account, she told her parents about the latter after her sister confided that she had also been abused by the same relative.^[2] The family pressed charges, and the cousin eventually confessed to three counts of child sexual abuse. The case did not go to trial, resulting in the cousin receiving "some counseling, but no punishment".^[3]

She graduated from Schaumburg High School in 2004^[4] and earned a Bachelor of Social Work from Western Illinois University in 2008.^[5] She earned a master's degree from Aurora University in social work.^[3]

Activism[]

Merryn advocates for sexual abuse victims.^[7] She published her diary detailing her cousin's abuse and her own recovery, relapse and reconciliation in book form as Stolen Innocence in 2005.^[8] In November 2009, she published a second book, Living For Today, discussing earlier abuse by her neighbor.

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. The law was passed in a number of states,^[7] with New York becoming the 37th in 2019. Merryn worked with U.S. 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.

Glamour magazine named Merryn Woman of the Year 2012, and People magazine named her one of fifteen women changing the world and a HEROES Among us in 2013.^[9][7][10] Merryn's media appearances include CBS This Morning, Tamron Hall Show, Oprah (three times), CNN (four times), the Today Show, Good Morning America, TLC, Nightline, FOX, MSNBC, Katie Couric, Nancy Grace, and Dr. Drew. She has appeared in Time magazine, London Times, USA Today, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. In 2015, she was in TLC network documentary Breaking the Silence, a one-hour, commercial-free documentary around child sexual abuse. TLC also created a PSA on Erin and Erin's Law that aired during commercials for months on TLC.

Published works[]

• Stolen Innocence: Triumphing Over a Childhood Broken by Abuse: A Memoir (HCI, 2004; ISBN 0-7573-0282-3)
• "Take Back the Night", Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul (HCI, 2005; ISBN 0-7573-0317-X)^[11]
• Living for Today (2009)
• An Unimaginable Act (2013)
• Bailey No Ordinary Cat (2018)

References[]