USA Today - July 27, 2005
After 20 years of advocating for those who are
survivors of sexual violence, it's hard to believe there is finally a
national registry of sex offenders (National online registry of sex offenders launched, News, July 21).
Now, I think it's time for federal laws on the
books that would stimulate a uniform approach to sexual offenses. The
reality is that too many states are considered to be "sex-offender
friendly."
I also believe it's imperative that we have not
only a national sex offender registry, but also an international one. We
know that both alleged and convicted sex offenders move from one state
to the next to avoid prosecution, but they also move from one country to
another. We need to protect potential victims not only in the United
States, but also in the world.
There also needs to be a federal law that
abolishes the idea of statutes of limitations on civil and criminal
charges when the crime is related to sexual violence. Canada, for
example, has no such statutes on these sorts of crimes. We need to make
our country safe for everyone.
Vicki Polin, executive director
The Awareness Center: Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault
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