A sex offender or a sexual offender is a person who has committed a sexual crime. The definition of a sexual crime will be dependent on the jurisdiction and the culture to which the individuals belong ( Wright, 2014) . Many convicted sexual offenders have committed crimes of a sexual nature, but there are those who have violated laws that lie within the sexual category such as sending or receiving obscene content, public urination, or engaging in sexual acts in public places. Many jurisdictions are revising their law to accommodate the changing environment occasioned by the ever changing world of technology. According to the United States, federal law sexual act is defined as the act of sexual penetration between the victim and the assailant. Sexual contact is defined as the touching that is classified as being of a sexual nature.
When convicted of these crimes, the offenders are required by law to register which helps the government to keep track on their activities. When registered, the offenders are faced with numerous restrictions such as staying away from underage persons, housing restrictions that have tem living away from schools, or limited use of the internet ( Levenson & Zgoba, 2014) . The United States has the sexual offender’s registry open to the public. It is only the United States that has a publicly accessed registry; most of the other English speaking countries have their registries available to law enforcement agencies. These offenders are often classified by levels and those placed at the highest level are required to register their entire life, regardless of the location they move to. Offenders who are at the lower levels are placed on probation and will be registered for a short period of time.
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The levels of the offenders are based on the wrongdoing they did, the nature of the crime and the age of the parties accused, as well as the likelihood of recidivism. The federal government of the United States has implemented regulations that outline the terms and the outline each level of offences based on particular principles. Each of the states is given the mandate to enforce stricter rules than those enacted by the federal government, but they need to use the preset laws as the baseline ( Marshall et al, 2013).
Level one or tier one offenses are those that are typical of a non-violent nature and the persons are of the majority age. Offenders placed under this category are often not disclosed to the public unless special circumstances deem it so. They are also required by law to register with the sexual offender registry for a minimum of 15 years and they need to be verified once every year ( Laws, 2016) . Level two offenders are also of a non-violent nature but these crimes will involve minors. Offenders here are required to register for a period not less than 25 years and the information they share is verified twice a year. Level three offenses are the most serious of the sexual crimes. Offenders here are both violent and non-violent of minors and adults. Registration here is for a lifetime and the information is verified on a quarterly basis ( Laws, 2016) .
Offenses under level one are wrongdoings and felonies that include; public indecency, voyeurism, possession, and distribution of child pornography, sexual contact without consent. Level two sexual offenses include any new offense carried out by a level one offender, trafficking of minors for the purpose of sexual acts, using bribery to elicit sexual acts, prostitution of minors, production and distribution of pornography, sexual activity in which the offender has authority or temporary custody over the victim, sexual acts or contact with person between the age of 12-15 years of age, and any plans to commit the crimes described. Level three offenses include any new offenses committed by a level two offender, most crimes that fall under sexual assault, acts where the victim was rendered impaired or lost consciousness, sexual acts in which the victim is under the age of 12 years, acts where the victim was unable to physically decline the act, where the victim voiced their unwillingness to participate in the act, where there was use of drugs or alcohol to render the victim powerless or have them impaired, any plans or attempts to commit any of the above crimes ( Levenson & Zgoba, 2014) .
There are countries that have extreme punishments when it comes to punishment of male sex offenders such as chemical castration, which can be reversed once the perpetrator stops taking the medication. Other countries have made it legal to have physical castration for offenders who have severe crimes on their rap sheet. It is a gruesome way of treating criminals but in these countries, it has been shown to decrease the state of sexual crimes.
The sexual offenses laws have restrictions as to employment, residence, and other details. Some of the registries will require that the offender only registers their name and not their residency. Offenders who are accused of sexual crimes involving minors will have the convicts being restricted from living in neighborhoods that have minors such as schools, day cares, playgrounds and so forth ( Levenson & Zgoba, 2014) . When seeking out employment, sexual offenders should not be discriminated against. However, employers are required to carry out checks on any potential employees and ask them if they have a criminal history should the terms of their employment violate their probation period.
Even as the sexual offender laws are meant to protect the public and to some extent punish the offender, some human rights groups have stated that the laws have led to harassment and ostracizing of the offenders from the community. There have been numerous counts of violence against the offenders both in and out of prison. They have called upon the state and federal government to reform their registration and restrictions since they are a violation of the basic rules of the former offenders ( Levenson & Zgoba, 2014) .
Many of the laws are meant to protect minors from sex abuse but the laws meant to be enacted are poorly crafted and there is a greater need to have proper laws and leave out the political aspect ( Zgoba, 2016) . Offenders are open to a violation in the United States where the registry is open to the public. They are denied opportunities due to their past convictions even after they have served their time and proven they are not a threat to the community. There is little evidence that the registries and community notifications have prevented sexual violence. This restriction on residency and employment will have the offenders leaving their homes and families and starting a life elsewhere a trend that will be hard when it comes to supervision and verification ( Zgoba, 2016) .
Sexual offenders are required to communicate with their probation officers and enroll into a support group to help them understand their disorder as well as the reduce recidivism among them. There are two types of therapies that have shown sufficient changes in offenders; the first is operant conditioning which uses reward and punishment to train new behavior. The second type of therapy uses respondent conditioning procedures many of which have become under pressure due to their ethical application. What is true is the fact that those who take the initiative and enroll in treatment programs were less likely to commit a new crime ( Zgoba, 2016) .
There are a number of recommendations made by human rights watch groups to state governments with regards to sex offenders laws. They have asked the American government to refuse to change the restrictions based on the Adam Walsh laws. This law asks that states register offenders who are young as 14 years or risk losing federal grants. They have asked to ease of the restrictions laws and have the community notifications left only to the law enforcement ( Zgoba, 2016) . The notification should also be made on those who pose a greater threat to the community and those who at risk of reoffending.
The laws that govern sexual offenders are causing more harm than good to the offenders and their families. Proponents of these laws cannot show convincing evidence that the public benefits from them. What is being asked of the government is to have a reform of the laws and reduce the adverse effects they have on the offender once they are released from prison or probation. The public accessibility to the sexual offenders’ registry should be banned or only made public for severe convicts such as those who appear in level two and three. The sex offender laws are based on preventing horrid crimes from happening. However, it is a rare event for a minor or a victim of majority age to be violated or assaulted by a stranger. The laws need to protect the victims and the offenders.
References
Wright, R. (2014). Sex offender laws: Failed policies, new directions . Springer Publishing Company.
Levenson, J. S., & Zgoba, K. M. (2014). Sex offender residence restrictions: the law of unintended consequences. Springer
Marshall, W. L., Laws, D. R., & Barbaree, H. E. (2013). Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender . Springer Science & Business Media
Laws, D. R. (2016). Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification. In Social Control of Sex Offenders (pp. 121-139). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Zgoba, K. M. (2016). The aftermath of sex offender registration and other controls. The Oxford Handbook of Sex Offences and Sex Offenders , 344.
