Sex offender

Sex offenders have been called "today's lepers.'" (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy_stigma.) A leper is someone that people fear, that they try to expel from the community, that they try to keep as far as they can from gathering places, that they need especially to keep away, no, keep further away from their children. In a notorious case in Florida (Miami-Dade County) available housing areas have been systematically barred and at present (2017) the only place they can live is the swamp (the Everglades). (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia-Tuttle Causeway sex offender colony) Like lepers, sex offenders have a variety of fears projected onto them. "I hate faggots and that sex offender is going to make my boy queer," for example.

Spread the word that sex offenders have the lowest recidivism rate of any type of crime except murder. RSOL has the research on their Web site.

Impossible to define

Like obscenity, a word destroyed by philosophy through the mouths of lawyers, what constitutes a sex offense varies somewhat, and sometimes dramatically, between jurisdictions. (For example, having sex with a 16-year-old is legal in Alabama, but it is a felony in New York.) The same with sexual crime: what it is is different in each state, and sometimes in differing jurisdictions within the state. The same crime typically receivess a sentence of probayion in one jurisdiction, 7-10 years in another

is a person who has been convicted of one of the broad range sex offenses from rape, kidnapping, and murder to public urination and public nudity (streaking). The vast majority of sex offenses are non-violent crimes but carry the most severe punishments. Sexual offenses may or may not involve a minor. It also does not necessarily involve physical contact; for example, child pornography offenses are considered sex offenses, as are young people sending sexual selfies to each other.

What constitutes a sex offense can vary significantly, sometimes dramatically, from one jurisdiction to another (as does the age of consent). In many countries today, and even in the U.S. and other Western countries, consensual adult homosexual acts are still on the books as sex offenses and serious crimes. In many countries, homosexuals can still be punished by imprisonment and even public execution.

Sex offenders often have difficulty finding employment. SexOffenderJobs.com notes, "One of the many concerns of a sex offender is 'where do I apply?' Well there is a very easy to understand short answer for this one. EVERYWHERE! You must apply everywhere that does not violate any sex offender law or stipulation of your release. This literally means every single store, restaurant, factory and whatever else you can think of."

See also

• State rape
• Sex offender treatment