Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Collective Action For The Rights Of Sex Offenders: Evaluating Social Movement Organizations, Erin Comartin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Sex offender registration and community notification (SORN) policies have been instituted across the country to manage individuals in the community who have been convicted of a sex offense. A social movement, made up of registrants and their family members, has sprung up across the country to address the resulting consequences that have ensued from these policies. State organizations are now working towards policy change for these families. This dissertation conducted in-depth interviews with leaders of 19 of these social movement organizations (SMO) to explore the organizations' structure and resources, and the strategies they use to achieve desired policy outcomes. Three …