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Colorado officials ditch ‘sex offender’ term due to ‘negative impacts’ on sex offenders

By Hannah Nightingale

The board voted 10-6 to change the term “sex offenders” to “adults who commit sexual offenses” in its Standards and Guidelines for the Assessment, Evaluation, Treatment and Behavioral Monitoring of Adult Sex Offenders.

On Friday, the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) voted to soften the language used to refer to sex offenders in the state board’s standards and guidelines. The board voted 10-6 to change the term sex offenders to “adults who commit sexual offenses” in its Standards and Guidelines for the Assessment, Evaluation, Treatment and Behavioral Monitoring of Adult Sex Offenders.

“The language change applies only to the SOMB Standards; the term ‘sex offender’ will continue to be used in Colorado statute and the criminal justice system, including courts, law enforcement and the Colorado Sex Offender Registry. The name of the SOMB itself will also remain unchanged,” the board wrote.
SOMB is a 25-member board created by the Colorado General Assembly in order to establish “evidence-based standards for the evaluation, identification, treatment, management, and monitoring of adult sex offenders and juveniles who have committed sexual offenses at each stage of the criminal or juvenile justice system to prevent offenders from reoffending and enhance the protection of victims and potential victims,” according to the board’s website.
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