A new law in South Carolina, Erin’s Law, is requiring teachers to address a difficult topic with students.

“Erin’s Law in South Carolina became law in 2014, as part of Health and Safety Education,” Guidance Counselor Jarrod Ray said. “The purpose of the law is to ensure that all students, pre-kindergarten through high school receive this prevention instruction during the academic school year. The intent of the law is to give students skills in knowing how to stay safe from sexual assault and how to report any incidents of sexual assault.”

Chapman teachers began implementing lessons on these topics three weeks ago during CHAMPS meetings.

Principal Ty Dawkins believes there is one main objective of Erin’s Law.

“(The main objective is) to help students,” Dawkins said.

Resource Officer Greg Irwin agrees.

“First and foremost (the most important thing is) the safety of the students,” Irwin said. “Anything can happen at school or at home.”

Sophomore Breana Mabry wants the outcome of this to be students no longer having fear of speaking up about their personal sexual abuse experiences.

“(I want) people to be helped in this way and for people to speak up about it so they are no longer harmed or put in this situation,” Mabry said.

Senior Alyson McFerrin believes it is an important program to teach.  

“(It is important) so you know the difference in how to handle it,” McFerrin said.

Mabry agrees that it is important.

“(It is important) because the new program we are being introduced to about sexual abuse allows people to be enlightened of this law,” Mabry said.

Irwin also believes it is important especially when it is an ongoing situation in someone’s life.

“I would say it is important especially if you are a victim and the act is ongoing,” Irwin said. “Unfortunately to get it to stop you have to let someone know. (Erin’s Law) also supplements what is already in place because you’re able to recognize it. It’s a plus because if you don’t have experience with it, you can have knowledge of it, but if someone has been through it, it allows them to come forward.”

Even though Chapman students have only been taught two lessons so far, important things have been learned.

“(I’ve learned) that sexual abuse isn’t caused just by speech but also many ways including actions,” Mabry said.  

With this serious subject being the topic of discussions in all Chapman classrooms on Wednesdays, challenges for both teachers and students arise.

“(A challenge is) finding comfort in discomfort to teach this,” Dawkins said.

Ray believes that teachers and students face challenges because of how sensitive the topic is.

“The subject matter can be a very sensitive topic, especially for students and teachers who have been affected by sexual abuse,” Ray said. “Teachers will face the challenge of addressing an emotional issue while instructing students on appropriate prevention and intervention. Some students may want to share personal stories or examples, so keeping students on topic while not getting too personal will be a challenge. Also, talking about this topic may cause some students who have experienced sexual abuse to open up to teachers about their experiences and they need to be prepared how to best handle those situations. The lessons, however, focus on steps for prevention and intervention, so by sticking to the topic at hand, students and teachers should be able to navigate through this without tremendous difficulty. If students find that this topic brings up a lot of emotions or situations that they may have not addressed, they should speak privately with a trusted adult, such a teacher or counselor.”

Irwin believes that, despite the difficulties faced in teaching these topics, implementation of Erin’s Law is worth it.

“All 930 plus students here are mine and I want them to be safe,” Irwin said.