Erin’s Law, a bill named after childhood sexual assault survivor Erin Merryn, mandates
all schools in Illinois educate their students on unhealthy relationships and sexual abuse
through preventative programs. We at Safe Passage are proud to offer these preventative
programs to schools all over DeKalb County; keeping children informed about abuse is the first
step in keeping them safe, and we are honored to be able to help educators in doing so.
Erin’s Law educates students on recognizing and reporting inappropriate behavior and abuse. It teaches age-appropriate lessons on body safety and boundaries, while also teaching children who to talk to if they feel unsafe. Our Erin’s Law program has a different curriculum for each grade level, making sure that each lesson is individually tailored to be age-appropriate but still educational for students of all ages. We also give educators, parents, and guardians tools to help identify signs of abuse and information on resources to assist when they are faced with a child who’s struggling.
Safe Passage currently presents Erin’s Law programs in about 30 of the 41 schools in
DeKalb County. Over the past 10 years, we have presented Erin’s Law to over 115,800 students. Members of the Prevention team visit schools K-12 during the school year to present their curriculum to students, all free of charge. Erin Merryn’s bill has passed in 38 states, Illinois being one of the first. It’s incredibly important to have these conversations with students to make sure they are educated and secure.
We here at Safe Passage are so grateful to be able to help give students the knowledge to keep
them safe. If you have any questions about our Erin’s Law presentations, don’t hesitate to reach
out to the supervisor of the Prevention Education team, Beth Ganion at bganion@safepassagedv.org.
Written by: Breanna Smith
