Meet the activists demanding elimination of the sex offender registry

"The tide is going to turn against sex offender registries when people realize they're more likely to end up on the registry than to be molested by someone on it," says Lenore Skenazy, author, columnist and activist for the elimination of sex offender registries. She lists off the offenses that could put a person on a public list of social outcasts widely seen as pedophiles, predators and rapists: You could be a sex offender if you go to a prostitute. You could be a sex offender if you urinate in public. You could be a sex offender if you go streaking. You could be a sex offender if you touch a stripper. You could be a sex offender if you dated a 15-year-old when you were 19-years-old.

What's worse, "there are a lot of wrongful convictions in sex cases. A lot of wrongful accusations," says William Dobbs, lawyer and civil libertarian based out of New York City. Skenazy and Dobbs want sex offender registries eliminated in the United States. And they're not alone. Although the vast majority of the American public supports the idea of using registries to keep a close eye on sex offenders, there are voices rising in opposition, saying that sex offender registries are ineffective and often horribly cruel. [...]

Not only can registries be counterproductive, they can also be excessively harsh and severe. "Getting put on the registry has a terrible impact on your life," Dobbs says. "It can destroy your career, makes it very difficult to get jobs. It brings routine discrimination, a lot of harassment, and vigilante attacks, some of them fatal." [...]

In an unprecedented move for the courts, a federal judge recently ruled that the Colorado sex offender registry is unconstitutional, calling it "cruel and unusual punishment." The judge noted that offenders face a "serious threat of retaliation, violence, ostracism, shaming and other unfair and irrational treatment from the public."

source: Article 'Meet the activists demanding elimination of the sex offender registry' by Lindsey Kline; therooster.com/blog/meet-the-activists-demanding-elimination-of-the-sex-offender-registry; Rooster Magazine; 19 April 2018