Colorado Officials Scrapping ‘Sex Offender’ Term, Citing ‘Negative Effects’

Actress Rose McCowen (in red) gathers with survivors of sexual abuse outside the courthouse after the arrival of Harvey Weinstein at the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, New York, on Jan. 6, 2020. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

A Colorado board voted on Friday to no longer recognize the term “sex offender” in official documentation for people who commit sexual offenses to reflect so-called “person-first” language.

The Colorado Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB), which controls treatment standards for people convicted of sex crimes, voted 10–6 to call offenders “adults who commit sexual offenses” in its standards and guidelines for sex offenders.