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Social Policies Designed to Prevent Sexual Violence

The Emperor's New Clothes?

Lynn University

David A. D'Amora

Center for the Treatment of Problem Sexual Behavior

Sex crimes provoke fear and anger among citizens, leading to the development of social policies designed to prevent sexual violence. The most common policies passed in recent years have included sex offender registration, community notification (Megan's Law), residence restrictions, civil commitment, and electronic monitoring. This article reviews the history of current sexual offender policies, their development, and their implementation. These policies do not appear to be evidence based in their development and implementation because they are founded largely on myths rather than on facts. Little empirical investigation has been conducted to evaluate sex offender policies, but extant research does not suggest that these policies achieve their goals of preventing sex crimes, protecting children, or increasing public safety. The authors make recommendations for more effective legislative solutions, including enlisting media in the promulgation of evidence-based information, creating policies that use risk assessment strategies to identify high risk offenders, and facilitating a more efficient distribution of resources that reserves the most intensive restrictions and interventions for the most dangerous offenders.

Key Words: sex offender • registration • community notification • Megan's Law • residence restrictions • civil commitment • electronic monitoring • social policy

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