National statistics estimate one in four girls and one in six boys will be a victim of sexual abuse by the time they turn 18, fueling conversations about child abuse education and prevention.
Support for state child abuse education curriculums gained momentum when Erin Merryn, a child abuse survivor, launched an awareness campaign and worked with Illinois legislators to enact its curriculum in 2011.
The movement for child abuse education has since spread to other states. Bills supporting the child abuse curriculum are commonly known as “Erin’s Law.”
N.C. Senate Deputy Minority Leader Gladys Robinson, D-Guilford, is introducing a version of Erin’s Law to the N.C. General Assembly in the short session this summer.
North Carolina’s version of the bill outlines the formation of a 17-member task force to study the prevention of child sexual abuse. The task force will examine and propose an educational child abuse curriculum that could be integrated into the basic kindergarten to sixth grade education program in public schools.
Child abuse expert Bud Lavery, president and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse N.C., said he thinks the best versions of Erin’s Law have been comprehensive and holistic, heavily involving the education of families and potential offenders as well as educating young children.
“We think that working with the adults is one of the major things that needs to happen,” he said.
The task force would also identify techniques for increasing parent, student and teacher knowledge of warning signs and preventative measures of child sexual abuse.
