The article that I would like to share with the class today relates to our discussion of the issue of sexuality in the nursing home. After the class discussion, the vast majority of the class agreed that as long as there is a mutual agreement of the elders to engage in sex there is nothing wrong in that and the nursing home administration should not intervene. While being under the jurisdiction of the nursing home, elders have the right to be independent and make their own choices (as long as they do not have mental illnesses)
The article “Sex Offenders Living in Kansas Nursing Homes” made me look at the problem from a different perspective. The article talks about Wichita Nursing Center in Kansas where seven registered sex offenders were living among the residents and it was found during the annual inspection in October 2011. Later it was found that this nursing home is not an exception, around dozens of sex offenders were living in the nursing homes across the whole state. This finding raised an issue – once sex offenders reach a certain age when they no longer can take care of themselves and have to be put in the nursing home, what should the state do in these circumstances? Some people propose a ban on offenders living in assisted living facilities, while others are saying that each state should build a separate facility for the sex offenders. To my mind these people are a threat for the residents, especially if they start dating and having sex with the residents, because they would definitely choose the most vulnerable residents. So even though I do believe that elders have a right to choose with whom to engage in sexual activity, this article shook my belief system. I also believe that the residents and their relatives have the right to know that there is a registered sex offender living in the facility, and it made me mad that the nursing home staff could not find these people in the database.
Questions for the class:
1) How do you think the states should regulate the issue of sex offenders and the nursing homes? Are you in favor or against separate nursing homes for sex offenders?
2) If you knew that your grandparent is engaged into the intimate relations with another nursing home resident how would you feel about that knowing that it can be a registered sex offender? What would you do?
The article link:
http://www.kansas.com/2011/10/16/2064099/sex-offenders-living-in-nursing.html
Hey Polina,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you doing further research on our class discussion this past Thursday, especially since I was not able to attend class. However, there is one statement that does not settle quite right with me. "... they would definitely choose the most vulnerable residents." I do not think this is necessarily true. I think as is any situation in life, there are multiple levels of what it means to be a sex offender. To stereotype this group of individuals and say that they are all horrible people who look to act on all vulnerable people is not right. For one, I know someone from my high school who is a registered sex offender because he was having sex with his underage girlfriend whom he had been committed to for quite some time. This makes up for a decent portion of those who are registered sex offenders. There are also those who may have had wayyy too much to drink at a party, who were drugged, or maybe at a bad place in their life where they screwed up one time. I don't think one mistake should mark and label them for life.
As far as the questions you posed, the idea of separate facilities is an interesting concept. I do think it would be beneficial for serious and/or serial cases of sex offenders. I definitely agree this group of individuals should not be living among the public elderly in nursing homes. I think maybe more extensive interviews should take place for those individuals who have been convicted of felons before they are admitted to the care facility, and separate housing should exist for the group of serious cases I mentioned above.
Thinking of my grandparent in an intimate relationship is never something I want to think about haha. But if I have to, I think it would be weird and strange at first. I would like to meet the person to see if they are good to my grandparent. We need love at all stages of our lives and I would approve as long as they treat my grandparent well. And honestly, even after the class topic, I don't think I would have the idea in the back of my mind that his/her partner could be a potential sex offender. There are a lot more of these individuals around us than I think the average population realizes. And I honestly do not feel threatened knowing that there are two registered sex offenders in Oxford, Ohio.
Like Krista, Im not too concerned with the sex offenders living in a nursing home. At this age in life, I believe that a nursing home would be one of the last places for them to 'practice' their offending. It is usually something done way earlier in life that they regret now, but it just stays on their record. A person changes over the ages, so in reality they are probably a totally different person from when the incident happened. A lot of these cases happen when one is under the influence of drugs and alcohol, which in later life we don't usually have to worry about as much. Especially if they are in a nursing home, they don't have easy access to these substances.
ReplyDeleteSeparate living facilities for these people would make it a lot easier on the caregivers and less stressful to make sure that it isn't happening. Caregivers have plenty of other things to worry about than trying to make sure that bad things aren't happening behind the scenes. However as I mentioned previously, most people have changed so there could be some disagreement if a person who has changed has to live in a facility with a bunch of other sex offenders, they could feel threatened.
Reading some of the comments posted on this Kansas article, I believe that the degree of sex offending needs to be looked at before they are thought of being put into a separate facility. A person can be a registered sex offender if they pee in public, a guy simply pinching a girl on the butt at a bar, having sex with your girlfriend at a park. In all these cases they are very different so I believe the level of the harm should be researched more before any conclusions are made about separate nursing homes.
I think that sex offenders still have the right to stay in nursing homes. If they are not in jail or on probation then they have fulfilled their legal punishment and should not be ostracized from society. That being said I realize there are many cases of repeat offenders, but I would hope that security in nursing homes would prevent any such cases from occurring. I understand that maybe a lofty goal for understaffed nursing homes, but isn't it their job to keep the residents safe?
ReplyDeleteIn relation to the topics we covered in class, I think sexuality of residents should be their own business. It's not as if sex offenders who are not in nursing homes do not go on to develop healthy relationships and therefore it's possible for that to occur in nursing homes as well. As all residents of nursing homes should be monitored, this situation should be monitored as well. If residents seem to be impacted negatively, then the nursing home staff should intervene.
Krista, what a lovely coincidence that I am studying the issue of sex offenders and wrote the whole project on that topic, so there is no need to tell me that many people are registered as sex offenders for crimes that in my country would not be even considered a crime - having consensual sex with your girlfriend who is under-aged. Moreover people get on this registry for violating a law that contained in a sexual category, for example, second prostitution conviction, sexting, sexual relations with a minor. People who committed these crimes are on the same list as people who are convicted of serious offenses like sexual assault, statutory rape, child sexual abuse, rape, sexual imposition, and pandering obscenity. At the same time pandering obscenity offences range from the possession of prohibited books to digital child pornography.
ReplyDeleteDo I think it is fair to put all on the same list! Definitely not! So what I meant in my blog post is only the sex offenders registered for the serious sex offenses.
As for the Ashley's post, research shows that sex offenders do NOT stop their criminal activity just because of their age. There is an article about 103 year old man who was put back to prison because he tried to molest a girl. He was convicted multiple times through his life for child molestation, and said that he would never change and would continue doing that as long as he lives! This case made the news but he is not even the oldest child molester in prison! So do i want my mother or grandmother to be in the nursing home with a registered sex offender (especially if he is gerotophile)? Definitely no. Just because someone is old does not stop him/her from the crime. Even with a sexual dysfunction you can rape!
This is an interesting issue, I read this article a couple days ago, which I plan on giving to someone in my book group. I can't believe how often this occurs and something has to be done about it. I think that nursing homes have to be incredibly cautious about this issue and really take into consideration who they let into their homes. There is an overwhelming amount of people on the sex offender registry who are allowed into nursing homes like any other person and as a result many rapes occur. Especially as an older generation, the victim doesn't have the strength to fight or react to it. I would not be opposed to seeing separate nursing home for sex offenders. Maybe if they have proven themselves to learn from the experience there can be an exception, but they need to be monitored.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hope that I never find that out about my grandma! But if I did it would be an issue to address, at least to my parents so they can consider it and talk to her about it. It would also be worth asking the nursing home about their specific policy towards the issue. If there is a sex offender patient they are required to release that information.
Polina, that is a great point that many sex offenders do not stop their criminal activity just because of their age. Before I read that, I agreed with Ashley that most of the time, these older people with a bad record probably just made a mistake earlier in their life that they most likely now regret. Taking both of those mindsets into consideration, I think accepting sex offenders into nursing homes should be a case by case situation. No rule or law banning sex offenders from nursing homes should be established, in my opinion. If the person in question has a fairly recent run-in with the law, then the nursing home needs to interview with that person and see what action they need to take. On the other hand, if the person did the offense many many years ago, an interview should still take place, but I personally do not believe that the nursing home will need to worry too much about it.
ReplyDeletePolina, I agree with the other posters that this is a very interesting dilemma. I have to agree with Stephanie that the admittance of sex offenders into long-term care facilities should be determined on a case-by-case basis. Some offenders may have made a mistake many years ago and have realized that, while others may still adhere to the lifestyle of sex offenders.
ReplyDeleteOne way that I thought of that could possibly keep the offenders from taking advantage of individuals is just to let the nursing home residents (and their families) know that a sex offender is living in the home. If a person is aware that this is a possibility, then they can make their own decisions on what to do about it.
I also do not see the problem with the sex offender having mutually consented sex with another individual in a nursing home. As long as he or she is not taking advantage of someone, then sex should be ok (just as it would be in any other situation). However, I do feel that it is important to ensure that people are not being taken advantage of in some way.
Thank you lovely ladies for your opinions! I totally support the idea of case-by case consideration. Some people TRULY deserve to be on that sex offenders list and some just did a mistake. Taking into consideration the economy I do NOT believe that it is possible to create separate facilities for sex offenders because it would require serious financial investments and hiring extra staff which in this economy is difficult to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a question of what the crime they committed was and how long ago the time was committed. I think there is a big difference between a crime that was committed 25+ years ago and a crime that was committed yesterday....i know this is an extreme example but I am choosing to use it to get my point across. Also I think you need to look at the severity of the crime. I understand that mistakes are made and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it after you have made your pennance to yourself and to society, just like what was said above..."some people truly deserve to be on that sex offenders list and some just did a mistake" I am a believer of democracy and popular vote and since I don't think that senior citizens are a huge threat to society I feel that it should not be a problem if people go to other people and explain the situation, if those people don't see a problem with things and say they feel comfortable living with sex offenders then who am I to say they shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI feel that sex offenders should still be allowed in traditional nursing homes rather than having special ones built for them. If someone was convicted of being a sex offender, I think the nursing home should be notified so they can keep an extra eye on these individuals. Segregating them all into a different facility, however, would not be beneficial for them and it may not even be possible to build these types of facilities. If a person was bothering another resident and taking advantage of them, I would expect the staff to take action and address this whether the person bothering the other resident was a sex offender or not. Therefore, anyone who was a threat would be watched no matter what. In addition, some people who are considered sex offenders may have gotten this title from doing something as silly as urinating behind a tree in college and got spotted by the police. I have friends this has happened to and do not think they would need to be sent to a special nursing home when they are older because of this. There may be people out there who are more of a threat, possibly due to disease in nursing homes, and therefore there are many potential issues that can lead to issues in nursing homes. In conclusion, when placed in a nursing home, I believe the workers in the facility have every right to get all background knowledge they can on residents, but this info should be used to tend to special needs for each individual rather than segregating them.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that sex offenders should be allowed in traditional nursing homes. I do think it is important for the staff to be aware of any sexual offenders and the staff should keep an eye out for sexual behavior. I feel a nursing home would be a safe place for a sexual offender in comparison than just being out in society. Also, a nursing home has a working staff that watches out for the patients so it would be difficult for a sex offender to cause issues without the staff knowing. As long as the staff has information about the patient I think it should be allowed.
ReplyDeleteI feel that states should regulate sex offenders in nursing homes. It is interesting to me that people who apply to be in a facility would not be subjected to a background search. Like Paulina, I think it is a threat to the residents in the home to have a sex offender in the facility. However, I do not feel that they should be kept out of the home unless they act on their label. The nursing home staff should be aware of the sex offender and monitor their actions accordingly. I agree with Chelsea when she says that she thinks it would be really difficult for a sex offender to cause issues because the nursing staff is on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
ReplyDeleteIf my grandparent was engaging in an intimate relationship with a sex offender, I would want to know the nature of that person's offense. If they were a violent rapist, I would not feel comfortable with my grandparent having relations with that person. If they were registered as a sex offender for doing something stupid like peeing in a park or on the side of a building, then I probably would not be worried.
How possible do you think it is to constantly look after each resident in the nursing home? I can not agree with you, Chelsea, that "a nursing home would be a safe place for a sexual offender in comparison than just being out in society" because the most vulnerable population is in the nursing home. Elder people with dimensia, Alzheimer and other form of impairments is an easy target.
ReplyDelete