Banishing ‘Sex Offenders': How Meaningless Language Makes Bad Law

26 Pages Posted: 3 Dec 2020 Last revised: 9 Mar 2021

Date Written: November 18, 2020

Abstract

An essay on how the term "sex offender" is functionally meaningless, and invites policy responses that are out of step with the reality of sexual harm. These policy responses, in turn, hobble our efforts to reckon with sexual harm, foreclose accountability and redemption, and elide more effective approaches.

Suggested Citation

Hamilton-Smith, Guy Padraic, Banishing ‘Sex Offenders': How Meaningless Language Makes Bad Law (November 18, 2020). 50 Southwestern University Law Review 44 (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3714875

Guy Padraic Hamilton-Smith (Contact Author)

Mitchell Hamline School of Law ( email )

875 Summit Ave
St. Paul, MN 55105-3076
United States

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