Reframing the 'Monster': Messages Used to Advance the Cause of Registered Citizens

• In Event: Advances in Sexual Offense Policy Research: Qualitative Examinations of Sex Offender Populations

Abstract

Sex offender registry laws were developed on a “sex-offender-as-monster” image, which is largely unrepresentative of individuals convicted of a sex offense. Once subjected to registration and other management laws, registrants and their family members become isolated and experience considerable social harms. A gap in the criminal justice and social justice literature is the ways in which this population argues for changes to management policies. This study conducted interviews with 19 policy advocates who lead state-level anti-sex offender registration and community notification (Anti-SORN) organizations. Advocates were asked to discuss the messages they use to motivate policymakers to change sex offender management laws. Five themes were found in their messages: 1) misinformation and public education, 2) public safety, 3) collateral consequences, 4) constitutional rights, and 5) costs to implement management policies. This paper will discuss the context when these arguments appear to help or hinder the work being done by Anti-SORN organizations. Implications for policy and advocacy practice are discussed.

Author

• Erin Comartin, Wayne State University