SENATE BILL NO. 216 "An Act relating to sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention efforts in public schools; establishing a task force in the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault; and providing for an effective date." AMY SALTZMAN, STAFF, SENATOR LESIL MCGUIRE, testified that SB 216 also known as "Erin's Law" would require school districts to implement age-appropriate training and curricula on sexual abuse and assault awareness and th prevention for students, kindergarten through 12 grade. The bill was part of a national effort spearheaded by Erin Merryn. Erin, an advocate and sexual abuse survivor, had made it her mission to enact this legislation in all 50 states. Ms. Saltzman stated that, to date, version of Erin's Law had been enacted in 9 states and 25 states, including Alaska, had proposed versions on the law and were currently in progress. She shared that the governor strongly supported the legislation. She relayed that child abuse was a devastating epidemic that affected the most vulnerable Alaskans. Most victims suffer in silence with lifelong trauma and stigma. She shared that according to statistics from the Office of Children's Services, in 2013 there were more than 2,000 allegations of child sexual abuse in Alaska with more than 1,800 individual victims, over 40% of whom were Alaska Native children. National statistics estimated that one in four girls and one in six boys would be sexually abused before their eighteenth birthday. Ninety percent of these crimes were committed by someone the child knew and trusted. There were currently forty two million survivors of sexual abuse in America alone. Three million of those survivors are children. She pointed out to the committee that schools educated children on the dangers of smoking and drugs, conducted earthquake drill, but did not provide education for this real world danger. She quoted Erin: "Had someone taught me about safe touch, unsafe touch, safe secrets and unsafe secrets, I would have known it was safe to tell. Instead I lived my horror in silence. I am now on a mission to give children across the country the voice I never had as a child." 2:42:41 PM Vice-Chair Fairclough noted that both House and Senate had been working on these issues for many years. She wondered about the progress of the person that was hired to deal directly with DEED for training on the issue. Ms. Saltzman replied that the person was Patty Owen and she worked for DEED. She said that the training could be in consultation with the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. She assured the committee that the intent was not to burden districts and that working with the council would allow for training opportunities and for a broader information base. Vice-Chair Fairclough informed the committee that training had been adopted and curriculum had been created for the Anchorage School District. She wondered about the cost to other districts to implement training. She said that members of Standing Together Against Rape (STAR) had master's degrees in women's health and had been successful in producing educational opportunities. Ms. Saltzman replied did not thing that it was Ms. Owens job to implement training programs in schools, but just to offer the curriculum. She said that most all school districts already had a curriculum in place. 2:46:42 PM Vice-Chair Fairclough recalled that during her first two years in elected office, providing training had been an issue. She requested and update from Ms. Owen as to the progress of primary prevention curriculum. 2:47:46 PM Co-Chair Meyer understood that families could chose to have their child opt out of the training in schools. He wondered how that could be reconciled if the abuse was happening within the family. Ms. Saltzman thought that having resources in the schools would be helpful for children that had problems at home so that they could get the help that they might need. She thought if other students were provided information then maybe they could help those who were in possible danger. Co-Chair Meyer OPENED public testimony. 2:50:00 PM ERIN MERRYM, ERIN'S LAW, CHICAGO (via teleconference), shared that the law had been passed in 12 states and was currently being voted on in 25 additional states. She said that the intent of the bill was to educate and empower children and to give them the tools pertaining to personal body safety to speak up and tell someone about physical abuse. She offered prepared testimony: "My name is Erin Merryn I come here today from Chicago to speak on a very important topic that is near and dear to my heart. A topic I am very passionate about." "One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before their eighteen birthday. There are currently forty two million survivors of sexual abuse in America alone. Three million of those are children. We are just talking about America. Those three million kids could fill forty six national football stadiums. As I often tell people these children are sitting in our classrooms. Yet we often fail to address the warning signs. We often label these kids behavior disorder, emotionally disturbed, but we never get to the root of the problem. We give them aids, we hold them back, and we put all these resources into these children but we are often failing these kids because we are not educating them. We are not giving them a voice and empowering them to speak up and tell if someone is ever doing anything inappropriate. When I was just a little six year old I met my best friend in school her name was Ashley. Ashley and I began doing everything together and it was at Ashley's house I had my first sleepover. I was so excited as that little six year old going off to my best friend's house. I fell asleep that night only to wake up that night to her uncle coming into the room and sexually abuse me for the first time. This man went on to sexually abuse me many more times in my childhood. I didn't go home and tell my parents the next day what he had done. No I stayed silent because the only message I was getting as a child from this man was, "this is our little secret, I will come get you Erin, I know where you live, if you tell anyone nobody will believe you." I was being brainwashed with this so I continued to stay silent. At seven years old this man raped me. I can remember that day as if it happened yesterday. This man continued to sexually abuse me until I was 8 1/2 years old. Finally my saving grace came when I moved to a new house. But moving only got me that much closer to my next abuser. It wasn't that stranger danger I was taught about every year, don't go look for the lost puppy, don't talk to strangers, or as I put in my childhood diary, "I sobbed the whole way home over and over in my head I thought about what just happened. In school a guy called officer friendly teaches us about strangers, never answer the door when my parents aren't home, I thought people like my cousin jumped out of bushes and attacked you at night, they don't warn us about our own family, they don't teach us that in school." You see from ages eleven to thirteen an older cousin was sexually abusing me. Once again getting the only message this is our secret Erin nobody will believe you. I knew as a child how to duck and cover from a tornado, how to run out of a burning building, how to evacuate a school bus, how to tell a teacher if I am being bullied, internet safety, and what to do in a lock down situation if there was a gunman in my school, but we fail to teach kids on the prevention of sexual abuse. On empowering them if someone is abusing you, you speak up and tell a safe adult. You tell a parent, a teacher, a school social worker, a family member, somebody but you don't keep this a secret. I was also taught DARE we teach this across this country. I am sure we teach it right here in Kansas. You see DARE teaches us the eight ways to say no to drugs but I ask you today where are the eight ways on how to get away and tell today. They never came in my childhood and the only message as I mentioned that I got, "This is our little secret, nobody will believe you, I will come hurt you." How did I finally find my voice then? Well unfortunately it was learning my little 11 year old sister was also being molested by this same relative. You see these perpetrators live in our backyards. I guarantee every single one of you knows someone that has been sexually abused. We live in a society that looks the other way, pretends it isn't going on, when it is really in our faces all the time we just fail to recognize it. There are people like Jerry Sandusky living in all our communities. There out there. Erin's Law will give children the tools on the difference between a safe touch and unsafe touch, safe secret and unsafe secret, how to get away and tell today. I want educators to be educated on the warning signs to look for and the proper way to handle a child that discloses abuse. I want that seven year old that is being sexually abused tonight to be educated on how to tell through age appropriate curriculum. So she will go to school tomorrow and report it. Because right now in our society that little 7 year old will stay silent and continue to be abused by that step- father for years and it isn't until she is 30 years old in drug rehab finally coming to terms with what she never dealt with because she wasn't educate. My goal here and across this nation is to get this law passed in every state. Every child deserves to be empowered with their voice and not to keep this a secret. Every child should know how to speak up and tell, the same way they know how to not talk to strangers or use drugs. I say to all legislators across this country the only ones that should be against this bill to help give kids a voice and educate our educators are the sexual offenders themselves. Help me protect kids by giving them the voice I never had. Help the children of Alaska know how to speak up and tell. Thank you!" 2:59:36 PM JESSICA LAWMASTER, CHAIR, ALASKA CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE, HOMER (via teleconference), spoke in support of SB 216. She relayed that she had forensically interviewed hundreds of child victims of sexual abuse; at the end of each interview she would ask each child to identify safe adults in their lives to whom they could report further harm. She opined that some children were unable to name a single person. She stated that when children struggled to think of safe adults to talk to because they did not know that it was okay to talk to trusted adults about something so personal, uncomfortable, and confusing. She asserted that shame, blame, and other negative reactions from adults that they seek to please, kept children from speaking their truths. She believed that passage of the bill would help to reduce stigma around disclosing abuse and assure children that it was okay to tell. She noted that, for decades, it has been expected of children to simply say no to abuse, as if they had the power or responsibility to prevent it on their own; the message had been sent to children that it was not only up to them to know what is inappropriate but to make it stop by simply saying "no". She said that the reality was that children were exceptionally vulnerable and the dynamics of child sexual abuse were complex. She stressed that it could even be difficult for adults to discuss child sexual assault, but that it was the responsibility of adults and leaders in the state to protect children. She reiterated the statistics of child sexual assault in the state. She related that in most cases the sexual abuse was perpetrated by a trusted family member: a parent, guardian, step-parent, or the partner of their primary care giver. She said that it was presumed that the numbers known about sexual abuse perpetrated by parents and caregivers were underrepresented because those were the cases that involved the highest level of secrecy and isolation. She explained that perpetrators in the home who abuse their children strategically threaten, manipulate, and isolate their children to the extent where many of the never tell anyone. She hoped that when parents could not be present to protect children that there would be other trusted adults available who could. She believed that the bill was most important for the children of Alaska whose homes were not safe and were isolated and bound by the chains of secrecy imposed on them by people they love and trust the most. She stressed that she had heard from young children who had grown up with sexual abuse so normalized they never realized that it was not okay and no one had ever told them different. 3:04:00 PM Co-Chair Meyer CLOSED public testimony. Vice-Chair Fairclough MOVED to ADOPT to CSSB 216(FIN), 28- LS1617/Y, 4/10/2014. There being no OBJECTION it was so ordered. 3:04:52 PM CHRISTINE MARASIGAN, STAFF SENATOR KEVIN MEYER, spoke to the changes in the new CS. She stated that the only change could be found on the last line of the bill, which changed the effective date to coincide with the fiscal year. 3:05:13 PM AT EASE 3:09:50 PM RECONVENED CSSB 216(FIN) was HEARD and HELD in committee for further discussion.