Child Sexual Abuse Awareness and Prevention Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I would like to share the story of a determined woman who took a traumatic personal experience from her past and is using it to help people.

Erin Merryn is a survivor of childhood sexual assault that began when she was just 7 years old. In her book, Erin shares: ``The only message I got as a child came from my abusers, and that was to stay silent or else. I went to bed night after night crying and keeping my secrets locked away in my childhood diary.''

Tragically, Erin's is not an uncommon story. Childhood sexual assault is a silent epidemic that exists in every one of our communities, and I am asking us to come together to do something about it. I am asking, as a mom of three boys first and as a lawmaker second, because every 6 minutes a child is sexually assaulted in the United States. One in four girls, and one in twenty boys are sexually assaulted before they turn age 18, and yet only a tenth of children who are sexually abused will tell someone.

Survivors of child sexual assault carry the corrosive burden of this heinous act with them the rest of their lives. Survivors often experience guilt, isolation, problems with self-esteem, and building relationships.

Erin shared her story to educate and protect thousands, if not millions, of children. And today, thanks to her work, policies that require schools to provide age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention education for teachers and students are called Erin's Law.

As Members of Congress, as parents, as neighbors, we owe it to our kids to follow Erin's example and be their strongest advocates. Children, teachers, and parents are on the front line of this problem, but they often don't have the tools necessary to identify it or get kids the help they need.

While Erin's Law is an important step for States that have implemented it, every child in America should benefit from the policies that prevent sexual abuse. Children learn tornado drills, fire drills, bus safety drills in school, but too often they learn nothing about how to protect themselves from predators and how to report abuse.

Congress can and should do more to help, and that is why today I am introducing the Child Sexual Abuse Awareness and Prevention Act. This legislation will help schools implement and expand child sexual abuse awareness and prevention programs by authorizing funding through existing grant programs.

It is common sense that we teach our children to stay safe and how to reach out to an adult when they are in trouble. By passing this bill, we can help schools across the United States protect some of the most vulnerable children in our country.

I am grateful to Representative Joe Heck for partnering with me in the House, and to Senators Gillibrand, Heller, and Feinstein for introducing the bill in the Senate. I am also grateful to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network for their leadership on this issue in ending abuse and violence.

Most importantly, I am thankful for Erin, for her bravery, leadership, and determination. No child should ever feel like they have nowhere to turn when they are being abused, and with the Child Sexual Abuse Awareness and Prevention Act, we can take a critical step toward making sure that they aren't.

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