ABSTRACT
The mark of a conviction is long lasting, and individuals convicted of sex offenses are doubly marked—first by the nature of the offense and second by the added restrictions and requirements placed on this type of crime. As the public perceives sex offenses to be most egregious and at the highest risk of being repeated, populist punitive legislation has emerged across the United States, and globally, aimed at controlling this group of convicted individuals (Simon, 1998). In the U.S., policies include mandatory dissemination of registry information, lifetime registration, residency restrictions, public registries, GPS monitoring, mandated treatment, and civil commitment. The nature of these policies and practices broadens and deepens the collateral consequences of a sex offense conviction.
For individuals convicted of sex offenses, collateral consequences do not exist singularly; rather they compound to produce intense, long-lasting, and far-reaching effects on the individual’s ability to successfully reintegrate into society. The conviction may affect many areas of a person’s life including the ability to obtain employment and housing, to reestablish relationships, and to receive various social services including treatment and therapy. The stigma of a sexual offense conviction can also affect one’s identity, ostracizing and isolating the individual from others. Many individuals with a sex offense conviction experience psychological and emotional stress and often feel devalued and discriminated against by society. These stigmatic experiences have widespread implications for both the individual and community. The stigma can hinder an individual’s ability to build prosocial relationships, especially within the individual’s family. The weakening of these social bonds may also encourage thoughts and feelings towards sexual deviance, leading to sexual recidivism. At the same time, family members, intimate partners, and friends experience stigma from the conviction too. They often feel strain from feelings of shame, embarrassment, and harassment due to the conviction.
In this chapter, we present the most recent developments in understanding the collateral consequences of a sex offense conviction. First, we briefly review the current literature, then discuss the impacts of legislation and restrictions of the post-conviction experience. We consider the impact of collateral consequences on emerging populations of study including women, juveniles, and tribal groups. Finally, we conclude the chapter by examining trending policy developments, especially those aimed at improving the reintegration of individuals convicted of sex offenses in the context of the compounded stigmatization.
