Vision

• ALL children have the right to grow up in an environment that is safe from harm.
• ALL families have the right to heal after pain.
• The public deserves fair laws and policies that will achieve these goals.
• Placing a person, and by association, an entire family on a registry is demonstrably ineffective at protecting women and children from harm; in fact, it does just the opposite.
• Families, and in fact, entire communities are subjected to vulnerability, fear and divisive behavior when legislators pass reactive registry laws in the name of public safety.  In fact,  numerous scientific studieshave clearly indicated that registries do nothing more than perpetuate a false sense of security.
• Scientific studies show that with appropriate treatment programs, a home, a job, and a stable, supportive environment most people on the registry will not re-offend.
• Some people, perhaps many, could avoid becoming sex offenders and having to register if they could seek treatment at the first acknowledgement of a problem.  But many are rightfully afraid of the stigma and legal response they face in these circumstances.
• People who commit sexual offenses should be punished with a fair sentence equivalent to the severity of the crime - nothing more.
• The current method of ‘one-size-fits-all’ clinical therapy and punitive treatment does more harm than good.  A proper program should include a detailed assessment based on current risk levels and a therapy plan that considers psychological make-up and mitigating circumstances. 
• After committing a sexual offense, receiving professional treatment, and paying their reasonable debt to society, each should be tested with an independent, professional risk-assessment tool and, if assessed as low risk, should be allowed the opportunity to rebuild their lives as they reintegrate back into the community.
• The general public gains no advantage by knowing the names and locations of those who have registered.  However, these individuals and their families risk significant reprisals as a result of the public knowing their information.
• True violent and predatory sex offenders with no motivation to change are a risk to public safety.
• A trustworthy psycho-sexual risk assessment that shows a proclivity for violent or predatory sexual behavior should warrant (perhaps) a longer sentence, a longer probationary period, or monitoring; but not a registration program.
• Persons should have a clear avenue to exit the system if a low-risk assessment can be achieved by means of step-by-step, measurable treatment program.
• When the family is placed on a registry:
• • some or all members face probable loss of jobs and the inability to find gainful employment.
  • they may face probable eviction from their apartment because of landlord bias, or because the landlord is being harassed by other tenants.
  • they may be forced to move because of proximity to a school or a daycare or a park.
  • some or all members face harassment by neighbors, vigilantes, and even law enforcement personnel.
  • they may have signs placed in their yard, they may have their property damaged, or they may be attacked by vigilantes.
  • they often live in constant fear for their own safety.

Goals Allowing Families to Re-integrate

• Rescind punitive registry laws; abolish registries
• Rescind civil commitment statutes in lieu of practices designed to help perpetrators
• Challenge civil and judicial rules and procedures, including irrational sentencing practices
• Aid the reintegration process by eliminating residency restrictions
• Prohibit employers, schools and apartment owners/managers from asking if applicants have been convicted of a crime.
• Provide assistance through specifically designed organizations to help those recently released from incarceration to successfully reenter society.
• Provide guidance and oversight to probation officers so they understand that their mission is to monitor and help those under their supervision; not to harass
• Promote ‘diversion programs’ in lieu of re-incarceration for those who break parole with minor non-sexual infractions such as arriving late to a registry appointment or losing a job for reasons out or their control.  These infractions should never be considered as recidivism or used to bolster statistics that are intended to burden a segment of society.
• Stop the egregious policy that allows lengthy incarceration to create onerous debt and in turn, seriously curtails, and often completely prevents restoration.
• Strive for cost-effective laws that will truly protect children and adults from sexual harm
• Ensure that all people are offered equal protection against unlawful discrimination
• Promote and strengthen positive and healthy relationships among all persons affected by sexual offenses; and help all of those people to heal by restoring the victim, restoring the perpetrator, restoring the affected families,  and restoring the community.
• Develop educational programs and public service announcements that teach parents and professionals ways to empower and protect children
• Change the law so that all acts of vigilantism against those required to register or their family members are treated as “Hate Crimes.”

Women Against Registry

P.O. Box 463

Arnold, MO 63010

800-311-3764

contact@womenagainstregistry.com