title: Percentage of named offenders on the registry at the time of the assault: reports from sexual assault survivors.
abstract: Sex offender registries were designed to protect the public from convicted sex offenders and future sexual violence. This study determines the percentage of clients seen at a sexual assault agency whose attacker was on the registry at the time the attack occurred. According to case files, only 3.7% of the identified offenders could possibly have been identified as a registered sex offender at the time of the attack. While considering the limitations of this methodology, the findings highlight a significant limitation of registries and support the idea that registries cannot be relied on exclusively to prevent sexual abuse.
authors: College of Social Work, University of Tennessee, 1618 W. Cumberland Ave., Knoxville, TN 37996, USA. scraun@utk.edu
authors: Sarah W
authors: SW
authors: Craun
authors: Catherine A
authors: CA
authors: Simmons
authors: Kristen
authors: K
authors: Reeves
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057237:Criminals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data