Kansas Coalition United Against the Registry
The KCUAR website was formed in 2022 as a Kansas state site connected to Women Against Registry, a national organization located in Missouri. Our members are registrants, their families, friends and those who support common sense laws regarding sex offenses and the public registry, which includes the termination of the registry.
We also seek to provide support in Kansas for families who are going through the legal and emotional nightmare of being accused and convicted of a sex offense. As their loved one faces lifelong punishment and social stigma, so does the family. We have found that most, if not all of the accused, decide to plea rather than put their families through a public trial, even when the accused is innocent.
Why do we support the termination of the registry? Certainly there is need for public safety. At what point does the registry provide safety? Knowing where someone lives who committed a sex crime in the past 5 to 40 years does not provide safety to anyone. The registry does provide unnecessary public fear and admonishment of registrants and their families in finding housing and jobs. We believe those who have served their time should be given a chance to prove themselves after completing their sentence. Support is needed to successfully return to the community. Considering the social stigma, housing difficulties and job insecurity, the re-offense rate of a sex offender is still the lowest of any crime except murder. It is less than 5%.
Enough time has lapsed to study and research the effects of the registry leading to common sense change based on facts not fear. There is documentation and solid proof the registry has caused more harm than good. There are almost 1 million on the registry currently and rising. There were over 11,000 registered in Kansas in 2021.
The registry in itself began less than 40 years ago and was a privately held list with the local police departments. It was limited to those who needed to be monitored for a time after release or on probation. The registry became public a little over 30 years ago. Sex offenses have been used as a political pawn using high profile, horrific crimes against children to create laws. The critical Supreme Court ruling that continues to be cited was actually based on a Psychology Today magazine article written by a therapist promoting his practice without any research or studies to document his false narrative “Frightening and High” theory.