Erin Merryn made Oprah cry.
There were not just a few tears. Oprah, the seemingly invincible media guru, had tears pouring down her face, and so did the audience.
“Now that Erin has me and all of you in the audience crying, I need my make-up team out here,” Oprah said during a commercial break.
Merryn, whose appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show will air at 4 p.m. today, spoke to Oprah and her viewers about being sexually abused as a child, triggering the emotional response. She also recounted how Oprah’s reaction on a similar show 20 years ago helped her overcome her abuse.
“I was told that crying was for babies,” Merryn said. “I was so impacted that this woman, a public figure, could cry about her abuse. If Oprah can cry about this on national TV, then it must be okay.”
Like Oprah, Merryn, who graduated from Western Illinois U. in 2008 with a degree in social work, suffered abuse from people close to her while in grade school. To facilitate the recovery process, she penned two books, “Stolen Innocence” and “Live for Today,” and traveled around the country to speak about her experiences.
But recently, Merryn has begun a crusade to educate children on sexual abuse.
“We teach kids drills,” Merryn said. “We have the D.A.R.E program where we teach kids the eight ways to say no to drugs. Where are the eight ways to get away from sexual abuse? I didn’t have to run away from a tornado. I didn’t have run away from a burning building. I knew how to say no to drugs when I was approached in college. Where was the message of safe touch and unsafe touch? Where was the message on safe secrets and unsafe secrets?”
Merryn’s educational campaign began with Erin’s Law, a piece of legislation that, if passed, would allow schools to adopt curriculum to inform children, parents and teachers how to prevent and cope with sexual abuse. The law also proposes a task force, which would create strategies to decrease sexual abuse throughout the state of Illinois.
“We need to incorporate education on sexual abuse, not just stranger danger,” Merryn said.
On May 7, 2010, Merryn addressed the Illinois Education Committee at the state capitol. All 13 members of the committee voted to pass the bill. That same day, members of the Illinois State Senate passed the bill unanimously, 54-0. Now, the bill is waiting to be reviewed by the House in November.
Until then, Merryn is trying to generate as much support as possible, including garnering the support of Oprah and her viewers.
“I wanted more than anything for Oprah to hear about this law,” Merryn said.
And Oprah was impressed. According to Merryn, before hugging her after the show, Oprah told her that she is an inspiration, even after doing shows for years on sexual abuse.
Although she has the support of a national figure, Merryn also wants the people of her alma mater to contact Speaker of the House Michael Madigan and urge him to introduce the bill.
“I hope people from Western will show their support to educate kids by reaching out to Mike Madigan,” Merryn said.
If passed by the House, Merryn will continue to advocate Erin’s Law until it becomes federal. Nevertheless, she is still focused on her original cause: helping sexually abused children break their own silence.
“While I have endured a lot of painful tragic events in my childhood, which I describe in ‘Stolen Innocence’ and ‘Living For Today,’ the sexual abuse and rape I suffered helped me discover my purpose to protect the innocence of children from what I was not saved from as a child,” Merryn said. “I have turned tragedy into triumph and helped give a voice to the voiceless.”
For more information about Merryn’s spot on Oprah, her books or Erin’s Law, visit www.erinmerryn.net.