Human Rights Watch Investigation

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Human Rights Watch Project - The harmful impact of sex offender registration and notification laws on children

I am conducting a nationwide investigation for Human Rights Watch on the harmful impact of sex offender registration and notification laws on children. This project will focus on documenting and advocating against the human rights violations that stem from subjecting children to such laws. Three general concerns are:

1. First, the laws can be overbroad in scope and overlong in duration, requiring child offenders to register who pose no safety risk.
2. Second, given the easy public access to online sex offender registries, registrants may be subjected to public humiliation, harassment, and violence. In certain cultural or religious communities, the registration requirements can harm a young person’s ability to practice their religion or enjoy their cultural rights.
3. Third, residency restrictions can have the effect of banishing registrants from entire geographical areas, forcing them to live far from their homes and families. The risk of public humiliation, family separation, and de facto community banishment can be particularly harmful for youth, including by harming the mental health and developmental progress of youth. The subjects I am looking to interview include, but are not limited to, persons with information relevant to the concerns outlined above who meet the following characteristics and categories;
   • Children (under the age of 18) who have been adjudicated delinquent or convicted as an adult of a sex offense that either;
     • Subjects (or subjected them) to sex offender registration and notification laws. This can include residency restrictions, zoning restrictions, housing restrictions, etc.
     • Were subjected to registration or notification laws but successfully petitioned to get off the registry
     • Were subject to registration and notification laws but aged out of the juvenile justice system and no longer are required to register.
   • Family Members affected by a child relative subject to registration and notification. Family members can also include siblings, cousins, grandparents, aunts/uncles, coaches, clergy, foster parents, teacher, principals, or anyone in a guardian/mentor-like position in the child’s life that was indirectly affected by the child’s registration status.
   • Attorneys representing children in underlying criminal proceedings or adjudications.
   • Government Officials A Government official in this case can be a probation officer, a judge, prosecutor, mandatory sex offender treatment provider, sex offender registration group treatment provider, police officer, interstate compact on juvenile official, etc.

Interviews with a wide variety of people from the above categories is essential to the success of this investigation and publication of findings. Every interviewee will have the right to refuse participation and / or to provide information confidentially.

Please contact me by email or phone with the name and contact information of the potential interviewees. If the subject is homeless or does not have access to email or phone, please contact me so we can discuss alternate ways to reach out to them.

NICOLE PITTMAN, ESQ.
Soros Senior Justice Advocacy Fellow
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
1441 Sansom Street #729
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102
Tel: (267) 765-6766
Fax: (267) 765-6981