Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/1544270
16 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • April 2026 It was a morning like many others, except one thing was different. A class of middle school stu- dents sat quietly for a special presentation. A new law had just passed. Erin's Law, first enacted in Illinois in 2011 and named after survivor and advocate Erin Merryn, requires public schools to teach personal body safety. As of today, it has been enacted in 38 states, including Virginia. A few boys in the back shifted in their seats as the speaker explained that some parts of the body are private, that no one should touch them without permission and that it's always OK to tell a trusted adult. Most of the class sat quietly, but nine boys looked physically uncomfortable. When the bell rang, most students filed out for their next class. The nine boys stayed behind. That was the moment everything changed. Once the conversation about body safety had been opened, those boys found the words to say something they had been carrying alone. They told adults that the school's principal of more than 20 years had been assaulting them. True stories like this, shared by advocates, are exactly why experts say body safety education can- not wait until the teenage years. Children often understand more than adults assume. Experts at Empowerhouse, a domestic violence support center in Spotsylvania County, note that "children are aware of abuse occurring in their homes," which is why education and open conversations early on are so important. Over the past three years, I've traveled across the United States, first as an endurance athlete running 29 marathons the year I turned 29 years old as part of my own healing journey, and now as an activist and founder of the Summer Willis Foundation, a nonprofit focused on changing the conversation around sexual violence. WRITTEN BY SUMMER WILLIS Talking Body-Safety With Your Kids The Conversations I Didn't Expect to Have as a Mom The Willis Family. Willis tes fying for the Summer Willis Act in Aus n, Texas in March 2025. ...conversations about personal safety are about helping kids embrace empowerment, not create fear.