The uprising question here is “Why are individuals (mostly men) sexually attracted to children?” My answer to this question would be the term “pedophilia.” Pedophilia is defined as sustaining a sexual attraction for younger children, or a simpler way to put it, “the love for children.” (“Using APA,” 2015.) After looking into a few different theories of this term, the one I agree with most would be assuming that the individual had failed to advance from being a child that was interested in other children to a more mature sexuality as an adult being interested in other adults. This temptation definitely strikes more fear and shame to the individual partaking in this act. Many people who have this urge are more than often afraid to admit to …show more content…
Although I said these urges are recurrent, this does not mean that the individual will act upon them. Ephebophilia is described as a sexual attraction to minors who have hit puberty but have not developed to the point of adulthood. (“Using APA,” 2015.) This definition is very similar to pedophilia. Pedophilia is more or less a paraphilia, which can be described as a disorder involving the recurrent sexual tendencies involving a number of things, the most relevant to this paper being children. Many may interpret “children” as those under the age of 18, but others interpret it as those under the age 0f 13. Interpret how you please, but this paper is based off of children under the age of 13 who are in their early stages of puberty. Attraction is something that has been in our brains since we were all born. Being a pedophile is close to a fetish, in a way that this love for children is a natural impulse. In my opinion, most people can control their thoughts allowing them to block these impulses out of their minds. But this is not always the case. When we see people partaking in these terrible acts, we see may different forms of behaviors. We may see exposing themselves to these children, masturbating in front of these children, touching the child inappropriately, etc. But even worse, forcing the child to participate in sexual acts. I believe that many people who are experiencing this tendency,
Masturbation and the sexualization of minors was seen as evil, and sinful, and as a result, society tried to curb these ailments through genital mutation of both sexes. However, while minors being seen as sexual beings was taboo, at the same time, child sexual abuse occurred commonly behind closed doors. Child prostitution and pornography flourished during this period, as well as slave owners frequently used rape and sexual abuse to crush the spirit of young African-American girls. Similarly, in the 20th century, many popular stories pushed the idea that young girls were capable of willingly ‘seducing’ older men who were ‘helpless’ and unable to resist the temptation. Likewise, stories such as “Greek Love” by J.Z. Eglinton put forth the idea that boys who were forced into relationships with much older men were simply being prepared for sexual experiences in adulthood. Society often contradicts itself even today. Its said children should not be exploited sexually, yet child pornography thrives and is sought after, child sexual abuse is rampant, victims of CSA are often belittled in court while their abusers are believed and protected; as well television often portrays teenagers, particularly young girls, in “seductive” and sexual ways. While incest has mostly been seen as universally taboo and has been stigmatized, the sexualization of children has often been used to rationalize incest and child sexual
However, because there are such violations of children taking place there must be a system set up that protects and serve children. One of the most shameful thoughts in my judgement is that of a parent(s) or guardian behaving as though that children are their property, and can be disposed of as such. Children are not something that is replaceable like a house, animals, money or other material possessions. Children although this is happening, are not to be sold for profit or to settle a debt. Parent(s) and or guardian(s) have a life in their hands and the rearing of that child or children effects the rest of their
I do not understand what is sexually appealing about a child. I see the beauty in children but not sex appeal. When I think back to junior high and high school to when I was starting to become attracted to boys. I remember liking those that were age appropriate for me, just boys around my age. I did not find boys younger than me appealing, they were little kids to me. I just do not find anything about a child sexual in nature at all.
As time progresses on, more reports of child sexual abuse (CSA) have been documented. According to Colangelo and Cooperman, CSA is defined as “the use of a child under 18 years of age as an object of gratification for adult sexual needs and desires.” Another definition of CSA is “sexual abuse [that] occurs whenever one person dominates and exploits another by means of sexual activity or suggestion.” (Hall, M., & Hall, J., 2011) it is difficult to
Many experts agree that pedophiles develop a sexual interest over a long period of time. Most commonly pedophiles are subject to some form of sexual abuse or trauma at a young age. Other common reasons are abuse or some other related problem during sexual development, as a result they develop an interest in children as sexual objects. According to some of the pedophiles arrested they stated that they developed an interest in children as sexual objects as a result of seeing such images over the internet
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.
Compulsive pedophiles will act upon their urges at any costs despite of the consequences they may have to face. In Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders, a pedophile explains his uncontrollable desire, "I didn't suspend my conscience, I carried right into the action with me . . . if I had believed with all of my mind and heart that the earth was going to open up and swallow me in hell, I would have went ahead and done it anyway." This man was a minister and was convicted for molesting his grandchildren. He knew with all his conscience that it was wrong, yet he would have faced any consequence if it meant he would get to touch a child. The mind of a pedophiles acts similarly to that of a drug addict. Even if they know what the consequences are, they will stop at nothing to get what they desire.
This is common in child sexual abuse as ”Such manipulation can include the process of "grooming" a child—giving gifts, affection, and other treats to a child to create a natural pathway to eventual sexual contact” (Minetor). This goes against the innocence of a child, as it teaches them at a young age, consequently embedding within them a connection with prostitution of oneself in order to get gifts and physical
The American Psychiatric Association 's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) characterizes pedophilia as intermittent sexually stirring dreams, rash cravings, or practices including sexual acts with a kid and that happen over a time of no less than six months. Much of the
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:
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
After comparing his first sexual experience with a prepubescent child and prostitutes, he concluded that he preferred to have sex with young girls, but he did not have any sexually arousing fantasies or urges towards children. With that being said, Respondent Hansen engaged in sexual behavior with his three-year-old daughter only for sexual satisfaction. In contrast to the Respondent, a person diagnosed with a Pedophilic Disorder is only sexually attracted to children and he/she is unable to control his urges or feelings. For this reason, Respondent Hansen does not meet the criteria to be diagnosed with a Pedophilic
Cohen, Seghorn, and Calmas (1969) described three types of child molesters derived from their clinical studies. One type had a history of relatively normal functioning and the incident of molestation appears to reflect a reaction to a severe threat to their sense of sexual adequacy. Another type had a history of poor social-sexual functioning and is regarded as primitive and immature in terms of social-sexual skills. The last type they found in their study had offenses involving cruel and vicious assaults on children and the act of molestation is regarded as more aggressive then sexual. (Mc Creary, 1975)
Categories of paedophile Paedophile is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children, generally age 11 years or younger. Normally paedophile is classified into four categories which are perverted offender, regressed child offender, fixated child offender and naive paedophile(Ramsland, 2012). The first type is perverted. These offenders are interested in molesting and sexually abusing children because they want to physically harm them(Ramsland, 2012).
There does not seem to be any one single factor involved in forming the sexual preference for children. There may be many different causes for pedophilia. One theory is emotional congruence, a theory based on the idea that "they (pedophiles) relate to children because they