Essay about Humbert the Pedophile

Sexual orientation has also caused considerable bias. Homosexuality was listed in the DSM as a mental disorder up until 1974. Even law had identified homosexual behavior as criminal; for instance, sodomy laws. Although homosexuality is no longer listed in the DSM, therapists still have the option of considering homosexual behavior as a sexual disorder not otherwise specified. The ability to still classify homosexuality as a

There has been much level headed discussion concerning why individuals carry out sexual violations. To the extent to what causes individuals to wind up sex wrongdoers, there is no genuine response to this inquiry. No single component can completely decipher why somebody submits a sexual offense, however it is trusted that some blend of variables may join to increment sexual deviancy significantly. These components incorporate natural, fortuitous, ecological, and sociocultural parts of the individual, depicting the advancement of anomalous sexual expression through the same instruments by which traditional sexuality is likewise learned (Terry and Tallon). There are various sub-hypotheses which have been intended to clarify the onset of

The atypical sexual behavior that I cannot wrap my head around is pedophilia. I have tried to educate myself on this topic and read a book on treating the offender but my opinion has remained the same. I just cannot understand how or why this occurs and I really don’t think I want to.

Pedophiles: are those that develop a sexual interest over a long period of time. Commit their crimes for a variety of reasons and go on committing their crimes with little hopes of rehabilitation. The internet serves purpose to many pedophiles today, allowing them to commit a crime and computer crime.

Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia have higher rates of mental illness and sexual offending, for example, incest offenders had a much higher rate of psychosis when compared to homicidal sex offenders (Galloway & Houston, 2008). Personality disorders and sex offenders were characterized by pervasive affective instability, poor impulse control, impairment of self-identity and a tendency towards engaging in unstable relationships associated with emotional crises underpinned by a fear of abandonment (Galloway & Houston, 2008). Comorbid conditions seen in those with a diagnosis of voyeuristic disorder or exhibitionistic disorder in addition to the sex offense include hypersexuality, ADHD, conduct disorder, higher rates of depression and substance use disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There are psychiatric comorbidity of pedophilic disorder they include substance use disorders, depression, bipolar, anxiety disorder, and

With the Pandora’s Box opened, we may find ourselves forced to rediscover morality due to our natural tendencies. This does not mean accepting adult-child relationships. Figure 3 indicates if we are serious about protecting children, then that ultimately requires some level of understanding, which is a problem for most because that is dangerously close to compassion. On the contrary, the risk they pose is the very reason why we need to support pedophiles who do not want to become sex offenders. We all want the same thing. We do not want them to offend nor their potential victims to offend. In 2008, Michael Seto, a forensic psychologist, published a book stating that the onset of pedophilia is right around the stages of puberty, as with any other sexual orientation. I believe we can prevent a greater number of victims if we put more energy into early detection and providing support before the first offense occurs, rather than solely relying on punishment after the fact. We need to be thinking about the children that pedophiles once were and catch them at their vulnerable stages, which are during puberty. There we can find a sense of compassion and support to want to help. In 2014, Margo Kaplan, an associate professor at Rutgers School of Law, wrote an op-ed in New York Times stating that pedophilia is neurologically rooted, supporting Cantor’s research.

Pedophilia is a psychological disorder in which a person is primarily or exclusively attracted to children who have not undergone puberty. A pedophile, the term for a person with this condition, is not necessarily one who engages in sexual activities with children. However, they have strong urges and sexually arousing fantasies about having sex with a child. Generally, pedophiles are attracted to children under the age of thirteen years. In our society the term pedophile is more broadly used for anyone who is attracted to a minor or someone that's under the age of consent. However, there are different terms used for different types of paraphilias involving minors. A paraphilia is a

Genetics, abnormal hormonal levels and brain dysfunction have all been linked to sexual offending. To date, there is no evidence of a genetic in sex-offending (Langevin, 1993), although case reports of pedophilic fathers and sons have been reported (Gaffner, Lurie & Berlin, 1984). Some researchers have hypothesised this to be reflective of neuro-endocrine abnormalities, such that abnormal hormonal levels may disrupt the sexual arousability of an individual. This is based on the belief that the endocrine system drives sexual behaviour (Langevin, 1993). There is some evidence for this in the literature with peripheral blood samples of pedophiles indicating abnormal testosterone levels (Bain et al., 1988) and increased

There has been much debate about why people commit sexual crimes. As far as to what causes people to become sex offenders, there is no real answer to this question. No single factor can fully interpret why someone commits a sexual offense, though it is believed that some combination of factors may combine to increase sexual deviancy dramatically. These factors include biological, circumstantial, environmental, and sociocultural aspects of the person, describing the development of abnormal sexual expression through the same mechanisms by which conventional sexuality is also learned (Terry and Tallon). There are a number of sub-theories which have been designed to explain the onset of sexual deviancy. However, because no one can pinpoint the dynamics of sexual deviancy, different theories have been developed to study and account for the development of sexual aggression and behavior. An explanation of the main theories is offered below:

Many theories have come about to try to help explain pedophilia. There is a four factor theory that was created by Finkelhor and Araji. The four factors they contribute to why individuals are attracted to children and do what they do are emotional congruence, sexual arousal to children, blockage, and disinhibition. Emotional congruence helps to explain the “idea of a fit between the adult’s emotional needs and the child’s characteristics” (Finkelhor & Araji, 1986, p. 148). The theories that fall under this category each explain or add to the definition. Hammer and Glueck (1957) and Groth and Burgess (1979) believed pedophiles experience themselves as children and have childish needs (as cited in Finkelhor & Araji, 1986, p. 148). This theory

Most people consider pedophiles to be anyone who has committed a sex offense against a child and that all pedophiles will commit this offense. In both cases that is, at best, a half truth. The DSM-5, which is a tool that outlines the diagnostic criteria for a given disorder, defines pedophilic disorder as, “a paraphilia involving intense and recurrent sexual urges towards and fantasies about prepubescent children that have either been acted upon or which cause the person with the attraction distress or interpersonal difficulty.” With the latter half of this definition, we begin to open up to the idea that there are those who have sexual interests in children who have had no form of inappropriate contact with a child, but rather just have their daily life affected by the feelings that they are having toward

     Harding wrote an article on pedophilia stating that pedophilia is a subcategory of a larger group of sexual disorders commonly classified as paraphilias. “These are defined as recurrent, intense, aphrodisiac fantasies, sexual urges,

One main controversy would be the fact that when the DSM-V was released it stated that if an individual has not acted upon their sexual urges they are not considered to have the pedophilia disorder but have a pedophilia orientation. There was a lot of controversy because it seemed as though the American Psychiatric Association was saying that pedophilia is okay as long as it is not acted upon as though that is their sexual orientation. Ultimately the American Psychiatric Association came out with a statement and said that the pedophilia orientation was not what they were trying to express, so in their online version they have already changed the wording of the DSM-V.

In 2002 the Catholic Church was rocked with scandalous reports of Priests sexually molesting young children and particularly boys. The scandal is the result of numerous investigations, allegations, arrests, trials, convictions and imprisonment of Catholic Priests. It became largely reported that once trusted and respected Catholic Priests were pedophiles. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) categorizes pedophilia as a mental disorder if the sexual fantasies or urges involve prepubescent children , if they last six months or longer, if the individual has acted on them, or if they cause marked distress” (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).

Vladimir Nabokov, one of the 20th century’s greatest writers, is a highly aesthetic writer. Most of his work shows an amazing interest in and talent for language. He deceptively uses language in Lolita to mask and make the forbidden divine. Contextually, Lolita may be viewed as a novel about explicit sexual desire. However, it is the illicit desire of a stepfather for his 12-year old stepdaughter. The novel’s subject inevitably conjures up expectations of pornography, but there in not a single obscene term in Lolita. Nabokov portrays erotic scenes and sensual images with a poetic sensibility that belies the underlying meaning of the words. The beautiful manipulation of language coerces one to understand Humbert’s interdict act of