by Bryan Babb
Colorado officials are set to vote Friday on whether to drop the term “sex offender” to describe people who engaged in “sexually abusive behavior,” due to “negative effects,” the Denver Post reported.
“I think the biggest thing is research really shows us that assigning a label has the potential for negative effects in rehabilitation,” said Kimberly Kline, chair of the Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB), according to the Denver Post. The board is considering a number of other possible terms for offending individuals, including adults “who commit sexual offenses” and “who engage in sexually abusive behavior.”
“The term ‘sex offender’ will continue to be used in Colorado statute and the criminal justice system, including courts, law enforcement and the Colorado Sex Offender Registry,” a SOMB spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The change being considered is limited in scope and applies only to the language used in the standards and guidelines for treatment providers who assess, evaluate and treat people convicted of sexual offenses.”
According to a draft sent to 11 News from the Sex Offender Advisory Board, it would change the term of ‘sex offender’ to ‘those who have been sexually abusive’. https://t.co/jqrmrdpXRQ
— Brian Sherrod (@briansherrodtv) November 16, 2021
The vote to drop the term follows a series of sexual assault cases across the country, including a case at Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia. Meanwhile, in New York, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in August following allegations of sexual misconduct.
There has been pushback against the move to drop the label, according to KKTV. Colorado Springs District Attorney Michael Allen opposes getting rid of the term “sex offender,” noting in a Thursday press conference that it “recognizes the gravity of deviant sexual behavior committed against another person. This proposed change diminishes the harm done to victims of sex offenders.”
The SOMB is planning to open a meeting to the public on Friday prior to the vote, where the change will be discussed, according to KKTV. Allen stated that he plans on attending the meeting to testify against the proposed change.
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Bryan Babb is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “SOMB seminar” by Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB).
I have a friend, who in part of his police officer career, worked in the sex crimes unit.. One thing he learned from the veterans in the unit-once the person offended under a sex crime they had one of the highest re-offender rates of any crime. They could serve time in prison or be placed in all types of offender psychological programs and the offenders still had high re-offender rates. That is one reason they have sex crime offender lists and they are constantly being watched by these law enforcement units. The effort to relabel a “sex offender” is ignorant in any form.
One of my grandchildren was a victim of a sex predator. My research showed that the repeat rate at that time was 95% regardless of what “help” the offender received.
Frankly the term “sex offender” is generous of a term in my thinking.
And what Dr. Ken said.
Ms Kline argues that sex offenders are so offended by being called sex offenders that they won’t won’t try to change from being sex offenders to being adults with good morals and conduct who are aware of sexual boundaries. Her argument is leftist hogwash.
This is absolute foolishness and aligns with “putting lipstick on a pig”, it is still a pig. To think changing the title of sex offender to “sexually abusive behavior” will lessen social stigma is absurd. What will actually happen is the stigma of todays’ sex offender will simply transfer to the new title. As a consequence, any degree of offending will be lumped in with every related offense including the more serious sexual offenses. Similarly, as included in the article, what will happen is the nomenclature considered will be at odds with what is used in other involved entities such as the court.