HOFFMAN ESTATES (AP) — Erin Merryn is convinced she would have spoken out much earlier if she had been taught at a young age about the threat of sexual abuse. Instead, she endured abuse at the hands of a neighbor and older cousin for years before seeking help.

Now 27, the Illinois native is campaigning nationwide for states to pass laws requiring all public schools to make children aware of the dangers from as early as pre-school. She achieved an important victory Thursday, when Gov. Pat Quinn signed Erin's Law in her home state.

"Had I been educated as a child, I would have spoken up and told the very first time," Merryn said at a bill signing ceremony at a child advocacy center in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates. It was there that she sought help as a 13-year-old, seven years after the abuse started.