Child sex abuse affects children from diverse cultures, religions, and economic statuses. Children sex offenders are mostly individuals trusted and known by the family. The study has explored the experience, identities, and perceptions of Erin’s Law and Megan’s Law. While Erin’s Law demands the provision of sexual education programs to children to limit children’s sex abuse, Megan’s Law demands the registration of children as sex offenders.
Using scholarly works (Caldwell, 2009; Freeman & Sandler, 2010), the study has examined the significance and limitations of these laws. The study has offered support to the previous study on the need for educators and parents to adapt strategies to educate children on what, how, when, and where’s of child sex abuse. Using Erin’s Law, children can recognize elements that expose them to sexual abuse, signs, and symptoms of abuse, and how to effectively handle the environment of sexual abuse. The study has also offered support to previous research in a wider variety of topical areas such as experiences of sex offenders and children (Olver & Wong, 2009), society experience, stigma, and its implication (Prentky, Righthand, & Cavanaugh, 2010). There is a need to reconsider Megan’s Law as a strategy to address sex crimes. There need to adopt ways to increase and maintain formal social support of the Megan’s Law and Erin’s Law through the provision of rewards for support partners (children, educators, family, law institution, and the society), restructuring of treatment curriculums to better assist support partners with their roles, and recommendation of best stigma management approaches (Sample & Kadleck, 2008).
Finally, future studies should be made to examine support for Megan’s Law since a greater understanding of sexual offenders may expose the value of the support partners and sex offender relationship for the significance of resistance, sex offender management, and societal reintegration (Nicholaichuk, Gordon, & Wong 2000).
References
Caldwell, M. F. (2009). Study characteristics and recidivism base rates in juvenile sex offender recidivism. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 54(2), 197-212.
Freeman, N. J., & Sandler, J. C. (2010). The Adam Walsh Act a false sense of security or an effective public policy initiative. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 21(1), 31-49.
Nicholaichuk, T., Gordon, A., Gu, D., & Wong, S. (2000). Sex offender treatment outcome, actuarial risk, and the aging sex offender in Canadian corrections a long-term follow-up. Journal of Research and Treatment, 12, 139-53.
Olver, M. E., & Wong, S. P. (2009). Therapeutic responses to psychopathic sexual offenders: Treatment attrition, therapeutic change, and long-term recidivism. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77(2), 328-36.
Prentky, R. A., Righthand, S., & Cavanaugh, D. (2010). Assessing risk of sexually abusive behavior among youth in a child welfare sample. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 28(1), 24-45
Sample, L., & Kadleck, C. (2008). Sex offender laws legislators’ account of the need for policy. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 19(1), 40-62.