Community and sex

Miracle Village is the nickname of a community on Muck City Road, about three miles east of Pahokee, Florida , that serves as a haven for registered sex offenders. In , the name was officially changed to City of Refuge, but it is still generally referred to as Miracle Village. The site was chosen because of its isolation; given that, the sex offender residence restrictions do not apply. The complex of 54 duplexes and six family homes [5] is operated by Matthew 25 Ministries, an organization with the stated goal of providing prison aftercare. The name is a reference is to the passage Matthew in the Bible which says: "I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me In Pahokee an affiliated organization, Miracle Village Ministries, provides services, including transportation, to newly released prisoners.

There is a universal feeling that not enough nor the right kind of sex education is being done at home, in the school, or elsewhere. Most parents, teachers, physicians, ministers, nurses, youth leaders, and school and college youth would agree that there could be improvements. Sex education is a complex topic. There is, however, as we all know, more to it than classroom instruction, because under this "umbrella" are a number of related but individual goals.

Managing sex offenders with punitive measures alone may not be the best way to make communities safer, according to a Deakin University forensic psychology expert. Deakin School of Psychology professor, Andrew Day, is leading a study to identify the most effective ways to keep communities safe from sexual offending. Yet there have been few attempts to draw on the expertise of those working with offenders, such as police, correctional workers and allied health professionals, when it comes to developing policy ," Professor Day explained. It is this expertise that we are looking in at in the current study. The Australian Research Council funded project is investigating current policies from the perspective of those who enforce them.

Such policies must hold sex offenders accountable while providing support and safety for victims and their families. The National Alliance supports proposals which are grounded in research, include collaborative approaches which are multi disciplinary and multi agency based, and are assessed critically and routinely to ensure their effectiveness. The National Alliance strongly encourages and supports primary prevention policies and practices which we believe will ultimately reduce sexual victimization by perpetrators. States and communities across the nation are developing measures to manage adult sex offenders with the express purpose of increasing safety for victims and communities.