Registration and Community Notification of People Convicted of Sex Crimes: What Do Those Who Have Been Victimized Think?
Please note: This webinar is not eligible for continuing education (CE) credit due to its informal, conversational format. Participants who attend the full live session will, however, receive a Certificate of Attendance. Also, the webinar recording will be made available for viewing through the On-Demand Webinar Library within 7-10 days following the live event.
This webinar is primarily for treatment providers and other professionals who work with people who have committed sexual offenses, including mental health clinicians, probation and parole professionals, corrections staff, victim advocates, and researchers. It may also be valuable for policymakers and community-safety professionals interested in incorporating victim/survivor perspectives into SORN policy and practice.
Sex Offender Registration and Notification (SORN) is the general term for policies that require certain individuals convicted of sexual offenses to register with authorities and may involve notifying the public about their presence. Although these policies
have received public support, the views of those who have been abused have received little attention. These views are critical to understand, as those who have been harmed may hold unique knowledge about the efficacy of SORN policies, and they are important stakeholders in decisions about sexual offense management.
In this webinar, Dr. Kelly Richards provides an overview of recent Australian research into victim/survivor views of SORN. This involved a survey (n = 193) and qualitative interviews (n = 26) with self-identified victim/survivors. Because research with victim/survivors often privileges the voices of women, this research intentionally over-sampled male victim/survivors. The concerns expressed were complicated and included:
- The possibility of vigilantism
- Unnecessary fear and panic in some situations
- A false sense of security in other cases
- Wanting the community to be truly safe
Dr. Richards provides insights into the complex views of victim/survivors about SORN and considers the implications of the findings for public policy and responses to sexual abuse in our communities.
Who's Presenting
Kelly Richards
Dr Kelly Richards is a Professor in the School of Justice at Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia), where her research focuses on sexual offending and responses to those who perpetrate sexual violence. She has been awarded both a Churchill Fellowship and Senior Fulbright Scholar Award to investigate Circles of Support and Accountability – an innovative response to preventing sexual recidivism. She is currently working on a 4-year Australian Research Council-funded Future Fellowship project investigating why adults sexually abuse children. In addition, she has led a program of research into victim/survivors’ views about perpetrator interventions, with the aim of using victim/survivor voices to shape public policy and practice. In her spare time, she studies ballet, trains with a women’s circus, and enjoys pub trivia.