Taking a Seat at the Table: Sexual Assault Survivors' Views of Sex Offender Registries

The popularity of sex offender registries within the general populace is well established in the literature; numerous researchers have examined the views of the public, mental health professionals, policy makers, sex offenders, and offenders' family members. However, the voices of survivors have not been equitably heard. To remedy this gap in professional knowledge, an online survey was conducted with nearly 600 sexual violence survivors to determine (1) their opinions on various components of sex offender registration and (2) if registries impacted their decisions to report to law enforcement. Findings indicate the survivors were hesitant to support the ability of registries to deter future sexual perpetration. While survivors strongly believed that registries create a false sense of security, they also felt all offenders, regardless of their relationship to the victim, should be required to register. Statistical analyses illustrate that very few survivors indicated that the registry had any impact on their decisions to report to law enforcement.