SD - My Voice: Treatment, not prison, answer for sex offenses

Original Article

06/16/2014

By Georgina M. Schaff

On behalf of our 4,000-plus members, the Dakota Reform Sex Offender Laws Family Solutions is asking South Dakota Senate candidates to make this issue a campaign priority.

Our mission — promote medical research, legislation and education to provide an empirically based, rational approach to dealing with sexually related offenses and stop the cycle of abuse to protect all children.

According to the Department of Justice, most child sexual-abuse victims are molested by family members or close acquaintances. About 40 percent of crimes take place in the victim's own home, and 20 percent take place in the home of a friend or relative. Your children are more at risk from your family, your friends and you than from convicted sex offenders.

While I was growing up in the Dakotas, incest was common. The abuser was confronted by family members and the inappropriate behavior stopped, a method that was very successful. I know from personal experience that the behavior can be changed and the abuser can be stopped, with the support of family and loved ones.

History has proved that incarceration and labeling does not protect all children. The Unified Judicial System Annual Report and the Crime in South Dakota report published each year by the Division of Criminal Investigation verify the number of new offenses each year while another child is victimized.

For an "offense" of any sexual nature, America law does not hesitate to destroy the family structure, slowly bankrupts the family and might force the family on public assistance (paid by taxpayers). Often the accused is provided additional legal resources through the court (paid by taxpayers). Citizens are incarcerated (health insurance, room and board paid by taxpayers), and once their sentence is served, they are released back into society, labeled with the registry as to where they can live and have difficulty finding jobs.

Tax dollars could be spent on prevention with a focus on changing the behavior and stopping this cycle of abuse. The Dakotas are known for their compassion and the opportunity to reach out and help those less fortunate.

We must take the "weapon" away, the "law" that provides the power and control over their victim. "If you tell I will have to go to prison, you will never be able see me and our family will be divided." Replace that "law" with, "If you tell, I will have to change my behavior or go to jail."

Early intervention is the only true way to protect all children who are being sexually abused by a first-time offender, and many can live with their family with respect and dignity while confronting their wrongdoing.

Among intervention benefits:

• Protect all sexually abused children with a promise of resources to change the behavior and stop the abuse.
• Behavior therapy is covered by most insurance, not the taxpayer.
• Children would be encouraged to immediately report.
• Future, additional victims will be prevented.
• Taxpayers would save billions on prosecution, incarceration and the registry.
• Cover-ups would be eliminated if treatment were the first option.
• Overcrowding in prisons would be eliminated.
• Families would not have to face a lifetime of shame.
• Many lives would be saved for those who choose suicide.

Dakota RSOL Family Solutions' Mission is for legislation for a confidential family intervention for first time nonviolent sex offenses.

Georgina Schaff of Lemmon is a Dakota RSOL Family Solutions State Affiliate Organizer.

Labeling sex offender misleading

Original Article

05/12/2014

DEAR ABBY: As a licensed psychotherapist who has worked with both victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse over the past 25 years, I would like to respond to "Stunned in the City," who found her co-worker's name on a website for registered sex offenders.

Registered sex offenders have been convicted and incarcerated for their crimes as well as serving a probationary period upon release. However, unlike other criminal offenses, they never finish "serving their time" — both in the areas of where they can live and how they can live (employment). They continue to serve a sentence that can never be completed and are stigmatized for the rest of their lives.

The reason for this is because of a "one-size-fits-all" approach to punishment, be it a onetime offender or a serial rapist. Most sexual abusers are either members of the family or a close family friend, and most are never reported. Only a small percentage of registered offenders pose a danger and should be under surveillance.

If "Stunned" reports her co-worker to her employer, she will jeopardize his livelihood, which he needs to redeem his life.

— Already Paid His Debt

DEAR A.P.H.D.: I received mail from mental health professionals, employers, parents and people who are on the sex offenders' list regarding "Stunned's" letter. All of them stated that the range of crimes that can add someone to the list is very broad. The list is no more than a starting point for people to begin their own research into public records before telling an employer or another person. Read on:

DEAR ABBY: For more than 20 years I have employed a man who is a convicted sex offender. He paid his debt to society for having sex with a minor when he was in his 20s. It will haunt him for the rest of his life.

The pictures you see online are recent because the authorities require updated photos yearly.

There is no demarcation between being dumb and being truly criminal, so everyone is labeled the same. Stay aware of those labeled sexual predators, but approach the sexual offenders case-by-case.

— Justice For All

DEAR ABBY: Inclusion on the registry can be the result of something that would not pose a danger to anyone — urinating in public, or having sex with a younger girlfriend when you yourself are a minor.

If you see a neighbor or co-worker on such a list, no one should jump to conclusions before doing more research about the actual offense. It may be nothing to worry about at all, or it might be something to react to. But you won't know until you find out more than a simple listing.

— Rebecca in San Diego

DEAR ABBY: After breakfast on Saturdays, my husband and I settle in, listen to music and read the newspaper. It's our Saturday morning ritual.

As part of it, when I get to your column, I read it out loud to my husband. We enjoy the letters and your advice.

When I finish, my husband almost invariably says, "You know, those letters are made up."

Abby, I think they are real, albeit edited, but genuine. He thinks they're fake. Who's right?

— True Believer in Michigan

DEAR TRUE BELIEVER: You are. I could never make up anything as interesting as the mail that arrives from my readers day after day.