This is taken from an essay that I wrote summer of 2018.
The world is on the precipice of a new day that could be dark and disturbing. The life of children, and the families that love them, will be greatly affected by a movement that started in 2013. Since then, psychologists have begun to normalize something that is unfortunate and gross; Pedophilia. The implications of this psychological movement will have grave consequences since the natural way of progression is always down unless fought against. Therefore, the normalization of pedophilia as an identity crisis, or sexual orientation, is not only misguided and imprisoning, but it is extremely dangerous to the safety of children.
Pedophilia has been long considered as a criminal act that has demanded laws to be created in order to expose those who had committed the horrible crime of sexually assaulting children. These people are known as pedophiles. Pedophilia is considered to be the “principle motivator of child molestation” (Cantor et al., 2161) and there are three states that have on their books the death penalty for anyone who commits this act (Schabner, ABC.com). But there is a movement in psychology that seeks to normalize the mental identity of attraction towards children and to categorize it as a sexual orientation as opposed to dangerous and disturbing. Mirjam Heine, a German medical student, said at her Ted Talk on the matter that “pedophilia is an unchangeable sexual orientation, just like… heterosexuality” (Wenderbread, 2018).
According to another author, Sara Jahnke, “the idea that pedophilia may be best understood as a sexual orientation, which, akin to homo- or heterosexuality, starts early and remains stable over the course of life, is now gaining acceptance amongst the scientific community” (p. 144). This acceptance is very alarming and should cause concern. To make light of it is to shun what is morally right and to embrace that which is morally wrong. According to the Children’s Bureau data from 2010, there were over 63,527 cases that involved childhood sexual abuse (2010). This becomes a logical outcome when one who struggles with pedophilic thoughts and desires are not taught of its immoral and destructive nature but instead as a definite identity and orientation. It becomes an imprisonment for those who desire to be free from it and it becomes permissive to act on the impulses for those who embrace it.
Tozdan et al. did a study that was published in November of 2016 where they examined 94 men who had sexual interest in children. They split the men into two groups and one group received information that pedophilia could be changed, and the other group received information that it couldn’t. What they discovered at the end of it was that those who received the information that change was possible had higher levels of “self-efficacy” than those who received the information that it wasn’t possible to change (Tozdan et al., 1241). This is helpful information to understand due to the fact that no one is trapped in as a pedophile but that they can be rescued from the enslavement of it with the proper help.
Others on the other hand do not agree. According to Massau et al., they state that pedophilia and child molestation as equal is invalid from a clinical and empirical perspective (Massau et al 460). As defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, pedophilia deals with the intense sexual fantasies and urges towards children while pedophilic disorder requires that an individual has acted upon those fantasies (Massau et al 460). The problem with the great differentiation is the act begins long before it is committed. Even Jahnke gives an alarming statistic. Out of 565 “child-attracted men” that volunteered for a study, only 39% had never had any sexual relations with children (Jahnke, p. 149). But the scary part of that statistic isn’t the 39%, it’s the other 61%.
The reason is that those who struggle with pedophilia will never get over it if it’s not viewed as an issue that needs addressing. Even amongst those who never commit any offense, it is a lifelong battle of suppression and control (Cantor et al.,2161). There has been more understanding shown towards those who commit the act of child sex abuse than there has been for minors who have suffered (Mintz, SSRC.org). The statistics from 2002 to 2009 show that 13% of girls and 6% of boys have experienced sexual abuse during their childhood (Bach and Demuth 498). According to Harvard Health, “The goal of treatment, therefore, is to prevent someone from acting on pedophile urges — either by decreasing sexual arousal around children or increasing the ability to manage that arousal. But neither is as effective for reducing harm as preventing access to children or providing close supervision” (Harvard.edu).
This rings true as there are becoming more groups who are seeking to normalize pedophilia for the purposes of having their way with children. Groups such as Heart Progress who has attached themselves to the LGBT rights movements. They call themselves a pro-pedophilia or pro-boylove group that advocates for acceptance as Pedosexuals. This is alarming on many fronts. This is the logical conclusion when the issue of pedophilia is dealt with as a sexual orientation opposed to a major issue that needs to be addressed.
There is help for those who struggle with this but hate it and want to be free from it and there are laws in place for those who violate children. But what stands between on who is a pedophile-in-thought from becoming a pedophile-in-action really matters. If it is a sexual orientation, then nothing stands between the thought and the action. If it is an issue that needs to be addressed, then help stands in the gap.
Works Cited
Bach, Maria H., and Carolin Demuth. “Therapists’ Experiences in their Work with Sex Offenders and People with Pedophilia: A Literature Review.” Europe’s Journal of Psychology, vol. 14, no. 2, 2018, pp. 498-514. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/2057161163?accountid=8289, doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy1.apus.edu/10.5964/ejop.v14i2.1493.
Cantor, J. M., Lafaille, S., Soh, D. W., Moayedi, M., Mikulis, D. J., & Girard, T. A. (2015). Diffusion tensor imaging of pedophilia. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44(8), 2161-2172. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.apus.edu/10.1007/s10508-015-0629-7
“Child Maltreatment 2010 – Data Tables.” Children’s Bureau | ACF. N. p., 2010. Web. 5 Aug. 2018.
Massau, C., et al. (2017). Executive functioning in pedophilia and child sexual offending. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS, 23(6), 460-470. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.apus.edu/10.1017/S1355617717000315
Mintz, Steven. “Placing Childhood Sexual Abuse In Historical Perspective.” The Immanent Frame. N. p., 2012. Web. 2 Aug. 2018.
“No Revolution For Pedophiles: Heart Progress | Halsey News Network.” Halsey News Network. N. p., 2017. Web. 5 Aug. 2018.
Publishing, Harvard. “Pessimism About Pedophilia – Harvard Health.” Harvard Health. N. p., 2010. Web. 2 Aug. 2018.
Schabner, Dean. “Is Death The Answer For Child Molesters?.” ABC News. N. p., 2018. Web. 2 Aug. 2018.
Tozdan, Safiye, et al. “Why Information Matters: Examining the Consequences of Suggesting that Pedophilia is Immutable.” International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, vol. 62, no. 5, 2018, pp. 1241-1261.
Wenderbread. “TEDx Pedophilia is a natural sexual orientation Mirjam Heine University of Würzburg.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 20 June 2018. Web. 5 Aug. 2018.