The advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has harshly criticized laws placing youth or children on a sex offender registry. In a report released earlier this year, HRW challenges the view that registration laws and related restrictions are an appropriate response to sex offenses committed by children. It contends that, contrary to common public perceptions, the empirical evidence suggests that placing a child on a sex offender registry does little to advance community safety. But the practice “overburdens law enforcement with large numbers of people to monitor, undifferentiated by their dangerousness.” And “the harm befalling youth sex offenders can be severe. Youth sex offenders on the registry experience severe psychological harm. They are stigmatized, isolated, [and] often depressed,” according to the report.
The report cites several studies that place the recidivism rate for youth sex offenders at between four and 10 % compared to 40% nationally for all crimes. The organization is calling on the states and federal government to exempt youth sex offenders from registration in combination with community notification.
