Priority Issues
The principles and policy positions that guide our legislative advocacy. AFC supports evidence-based reform that balances public safety with fairness and constitutional rights.
Our Guiding Principles
Advocates for Change believes all sexual abuse is unacceptable. We also believe that prevention, treatment, and healing are possible — and that Colorado’s laws should reflect that reality.
Our positions are grounded in peer-reviewed research, constitutional principles, and the lived experiences of individuals and families navigating the justice system. We advocate for public-safety measures that work — through prevention-based, trauma-informed, and healing-focused policy initiatives that respect everyone’s dignity.
Prevention First
We cannot arrest our way to safety. Effective public policy addresses root causes.
Education & Prevention
Comprehensive, age-appropriate education about healthy relationships, consent, and boundaries is the most effective tool for preventing sexual harm before it occurs.
Treatment & Healing
Access to evidence-based mental health treatment — for those who have caused harm and those who have survived it — leads to safer communities than punishment alone.
Reintegration & Stability
Research consistently shows that access to stable housing, employment, and community support are among the strongest protective factors against reoffending.
What We Support
- Evidence-based risk assessment rather than blanket registry requirements — using validated tools to determine individual risk levels and guide proportionate responses
- Proportionate registry durations based on individual risk and demonstrated rehabilitation, not one-size-fits-all lifetime registration
- Removal of counterproductive restrictions — residency and employment restrictions that research shows do not improve public safety and may increase risk by destabilizing registrants
- Access to treatment and rehabilitation for all registrants, including affordable, evidence-based treatment options and strengths-based programs over shame-based punishment
- Protections against retroactive punishment — new registration requirements should not be applied retroactively to increase the burden on individuals sentenced under previous law
- Transparent, data-driven policymaking informed by peer-reviewed recidivism research rather than fear-based legislation
- Judicial discretion in sentencing based on the specific circumstances of each case and person, rather than rigid mandatory minimums
- Fair-chance hiring protections that give individuals who have completed their sentences a meaningful opportunity to become productive community members
- Person-first language in legislation, policy, and public discourse — because how we talk about people shapes how we treat them
Priority Reforms for Colorado
- Tiered registry system: Replace Colorado’s current registry structure with a tiered system based on validated risk assessment, as recommended by national best practices and adopted by a growing number of states
- Pathway to removal: Create a meaningful process for low-risk, rehabilitated individuals to petition for removal from the registry after demonstrating compliance and rehabilitation
- Juvenile record protections: Ensure that individuals adjudicated as juveniles are not subjected to lifetime registration requirements designed for adult offenders
- Elimination of ineffective restrictions: Remove residency restrictions that peer-reviewed research has consistently shown to be ineffective at reducing recidivism
- Supervision and treatment reform: Modernize conditions of parole and probation to reflect current research, including access to meaningful programming and rehabilitation while under supervision
- Prevention investment: Advocate for state funding toward primary prevention — education, early intervention, and mental health resources — alongside enforcement
The Research Behind Our Positions
Our advocacy is grounded in evidence, not emotion. Key findings from peer-reviewed research include:
Sexual offense recidivism rates are “frightening and high.”
Meta-analyses show rates of approximately 5–15% over 5 years — among the lowest of any tracked crime classification. A BJS 9-year follow-up found only 7.7% were rearrested for another sex offense.
Residency restrictions and public registries keep communities safer.
Residency restrictions have no significant effect on recidivism and may increase risk by creating housing instability. Three decades of research on public registries shows they are both punitive in practice and ineffective at protecting communities.
Access to stable housing, employment, and community support are among the strongest protective factors against reoffending. Risk assessment tools can reliably distinguish between higher- and lower-risk individuals, supporting a tiered approach over blanket policies.
Trauma-informed, strengths-based interventions produce better outcomes than shame-based punitive measures — for both individuals and public safety. A meta-analysis found treated offenders had 10.9% sexual recidivism compared to 19.2% for untreated.
For the full collection of research, visit our Research page or the Collateral Consequences Resource Center.
Add Your Voice
Rational reform depends on engaged community members who speak up. Whether you contact your legislator, attend a hearing, or share research with your network — every action moves Colorado closer to evidence-based policy.