[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 15, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H5177-H5178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Massachusetts (Ms. Clark) for 5 minutes.
  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.

[[Page H5178]]

  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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