The Registry: Government Sanctioned Bullying of Registrant’s Children
With all the hype in the news over bullying of children, the government appears oblivious to its own part in causing harm to children of those on the sex offender registry.
Studies have shown that some registrants suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) due to the public shame and humiliation of being on the registry. It only stands to reason that their children may be suffering from PTSD as well.
Children of registrants become fodder for neighborhood and school gossip. They are put on a virtual registry, a very real punitive and embarrassing registry that the world uses to define them.
Registrant’s children become “the child of that sex offender”, instead of just one of the neighborhood kids. They are ostracized, bullied, avoided, left-out, teased, belittled and made to feel ashamed not only of their parent, but of themselves.
They may suffer in silence, become outwardly angry or inwardly self-destructive. Their self-esteem plummets. They are forever changed because of the registry that our government supports.
Of course the powers that be would defend the registry with the notion that children are put in this positions because of their parents crime, not the governments fault.
But the person on the registry has already paid for their crime. They have most likely served a jail or prison sentence, been financially ruined having to pay restitution, lost their job, home, family and friends. What part of this doesn’t the government understand?
Yes, all the hype about bullying advises us to report bullying if we see it.
Well, U.S. Government, I’m notifying you that what you are doing to the children of registrants, is bullying, plain and simple, and it’s time to stop the collateral damage you are causing.
