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The making of a modern-day witch hunt: Book review - Richard Webster’s The Secret of Bryn Estyn,
Jan 30 2009
The making of a modern-day witch hunt
The publication of the paperback version of Richard Webster’s The Secret of Bryn Estyn is a powerful reminder of who is driving today’s hysterical anti-paedophile witch hunts: police, judges, politicians… the elite, not the mob.
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The making of a modern-day witch hunt
The publication of the paperback version of Richard Webster’s The Secret of Bryn Estyn is a powerful reminder of who is driving today’s hysterical anti-paedophile witch hunts: police, judges, politicians… the elite, not the mob.
Making Punishments Fit the Most Offensive Crimes,
Oct 23 2008
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MAP Starting Guide
“Minor-attracted person” ["MAP"] is anyone with a romantic or sexual interest in people who have not yet reached the age of consent. The category is broad enough to include even minors themselves, if they develop feelings and practices that can be considered sexual in their general tract between each other. However, this category is fairly new and most people don’t see the difference between attraction to minors and pedophilia, which is, itself, charged with great amounts of stigma. Because of that, the self-esteem of minor-attracted people is severely damaged, they hide and develop self-hatred. But it’s important for the minor attracted person to understand that they are not a threat to minors, that their attraction is fine in other cultures and that, putting things that way, attraction to minors isn’t a disease per itself, but is made such by society. That should help minor-attracted people to accept themselves wholeheartedly, to see cultural phenomena as passive of changing, improve understanding of themselves and point to help, if such is needed.
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“Minor-attracted person” ["MAP"] is anyone with a romantic or sexual interest in people who have not yet reached the age of consent. The category is broad enough to include even minors themselves, if they develop feelings and practices that can be considered sexual in their general tract between each other. However, this category is fairly new and most people don’t see the difference between attraction to minors and pedophilia, which is, itself, charged with great amounts of stigma. Because of that, the self-esteem of minor-attracted people is severely damaged, they hide and develop self-hatred. But it’s important for the minor attracted person to understand that they are not a threat to minors, that their attraction is fine in other cultures and that, putting things that way, attraction to minors isn’t a disease per itself, but is made such by society. That should help minor-attracted people to accept themselves wholeheartedly, to see cultural phenomena as passive of changing, improve understanding of themselves and point to help, if such is needed.
Mark Bowden on Sexual Predators | Culture | Vanity Fair
Minority ReportA Crime of ShadowsAfter months of prowling Internet chat rooms, posing as the mother of two young daughters, Detective Michele Deery thought she had a live one: “parafling,” a married, middle-aged man who claimed he wanted to have sex with her kids. But was he just playing a twisted game of seduction? Both the policewoman and her target give the author their versions of the truth, in a case that challenges the conventional wisdom about online sexual predators, and blurs the lines among crime, “intent,” and enticement.
[... ... ...] The conviction does raise doubts but was a fact [...]
The classes he attends as a condition of his probation demand that he admit a sexual desire for children. It is considered an essential step toward recovery. J told his instructor that he has no such desire. He never did. He was told that if he persists in this denial he will jeopardize his probation and could be sent back to jail.
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Minority ReportA Crime of ShadowsAfter months of prowling Internet chat rooms, posing as the mother of two young daughters, Detective Michele Deery thought she had a live one: “parafling,” a married, middle-aged man who claimed he wanted to have sex with her kids. But was he just playing a twisted game of seduction? Both the policewoman and her target give the author their versions of the truth, in a case that challenges the conventional wisdom about online sexual predators, and blurs the lines among crime, “intent,” and enticement.
[... ... ...] The conviction does raise doubts but was a fact [...]
The classes he attends as a condition of his probation demand that he admit a sexual desire for children. It is considered an essential step toward recovery. J told his instructor that he has no such desire. He never did. He was told that if he persists in this denial he will jeopardize his probation and could be sent back to jail.
Mathematical Statistics for Pedophiles
This article is a textbook for those who study the “Meta-Analytic Examination of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples” (1998) by Bruce Rind, Philip Tromovitch and Robert Bauserman.
The essential principles of probability theory, correlation analysis, and statistical tests theory are explained. Among which path analysis, variance analysis, regression analysis, contrast analysis, and sermi-partial correlational analysis are expounded.
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This article is a textbook for those who study the “Meta-Analytic Examination of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples” (1998) by Bruce Rind, Philip Tromovitch and Robert Bauserman.
The essential principles of probability theory, correlation analysis, and statistical tests theory are explained. Among which path analysis, variance analysis, regression analysis, contrast analysis, and sermi-partial correlational analysis are expounded.
McMartin Pre-Schooler: 'I Lied'
A long-delayed apology from one of the accusers in the notorious McMartin Pre-School molestation case. ...
My parents would ask questions: "Did the teachers ever do things to you?" They talked about Ray Buckey, whom I had never met. I don't even have any recollection of him attending the school when I was going there. ...
"I'm not going to get out of here unless I tell them what they want to hear." ...
I remember them asking extremely uncomfortable questions about whether Ray touched me and about all the teachers and what they did — and I remember telling them nothing happened to me. ...
Anytime I would give them an answer that they didn't like, they would ask again and encourage me to give them the answer they were looking for. It was really obvious what they wanted. ...
After she [my mother] asked me a hundred times, I probably said yeah ...
I remember breaking down and crying. I felt everyone knew I was lying. ...
"Nothing happened! Nothing ever happened to me at that school." She [my mother] didn't believe me. ... That one night skewed our relationship.
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A long-delayed apology from one of the accusers in the notorious McMartin Pre-School molestation case. ...
My parents would ask questions: "Did the teachers ever do things to you?" They talked about Ray Buckey, whom I had never met. I don't even have any recollection of him attending the school when I was going there. ...
"I'm not going to get out of here unless I tell them what they want to hear." ...
I remember them asking extremely uncomfortable questions about whether Ray touched me and about all the teachers and what they did — and I remember telling them nothing happened to me. ...
Anytime I would give them an answer that they didn't like, they would ask again and encourage me to give them the answer they were looking for. It was really obvious what they wanted. ...
After she [my mother] asked me a hundred times, I probably said yeah ...
I remember breaking down and crying. I felt everyone knew I was lying. ...
"Nothing happened! Nothing ever happened to me at that school." She [my mother] didn't believe me. ... That one night skewed our relationship.
Meet pedophiles who mean well;
Salon.com,
Jul 01 2012
The goal of the organization is to offer support to pedophiles who want to live virtuously and to raise public awareness about the fact that such pedophiles exist.
Support is a major aim of the site, beyond even raising awareness in the outside world.
Edwards wants to shine a spotlight on the sort of pedophiles that don’t make the evening news.
“I hope people start to realize that virtuous pedophiles exist, [...] and “that many are no danger and shouldn’t be branded as dangerous without evidence.”
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The goal of the organization is to offer support to pedophiles who want to live virtuously and to raise public awareness about the fact that such pedophiles exist.
Support is a major aim of the site, beyond even raising awareness in the outside world.
Edwards wants to shine a spotlight on the sort of pedophiles that don’t make the evening news.
“I hope people start to realize that virtuous pedophiles exist, [...] and “that many are no danger and shouldn’t be branded as dangerous without evidence.”
Most Child Sex Abusers Are Not Pedophiles, Expert Says,
Apr 04 2016
Interview with David Finkelhor.
An increasing number of experts believe that pedophiles might not have a choice in the matter. We spoke with an expert to understand child sexual abuse, and whether or not pedophilia is really a sexual orientation.
"It is very important for the public to understand that most child molesters are not pedophiles" ...
"If, for instance, the group of pedophiles who do not act on their desire is large, then it may be a promising impication for the treatment of pedophilia." ...
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Interview with David Finkelhor.
An increasing number of experts believe that pedophiles might not have a choice in the matter. We spoke with an expert to understand child sexual abuse, and whether or not pedophilia is really a sexual orientation.
"It is very important for the public to understand that most child molesters are not pedophiles" ...
"If, for instance, the group of pedophiles who do not act on their desire is large, then it may be a promising impication for the treatment of pedophilia." ...
My Life as a Boy
[...] What I really didn't want to hear was the day James told me we couldn't do the sex thing anymore. I don't recall his exact words but something to the effect "this just isn't right or this isn't normal". I was crushed. It (our friendship) seemed so normal and great to me that I didn't understand why he felt that way. My suffering didn't come from the hands of an abuser, my suffer came from the words of a man who feared for my wellbeing.
[...]
There are ten thousand therapist out there who would still say I was a victim at the hands of an abuser. I was not. I have every reason in the world to give in to what I have been told, and put all my problems on James, But James was not the problem! I was there. I know what happened, and I know how I felt. Maybe I'm the only boy in the world that had a loving caring relationship with an adult man but I doubt it. This is a true story, and all I'm asking is for you to realize that you are being fed a bunch of crap when you are told intergenerational relationships are always bad. They are not always bad and I am living proof. [...]
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[...] What I really didn't want to hear was the day James told me we couldn't do the sex thing anymore. I don't recall his exact words but something to the effect "this just isn't right or this isn't normal". I was crushed. It (our friendship) seemed so normal and great to me that I didn't understand why he felt that way. My suffering didn't come from the hands of an abuser, my suffer came from the words of a man who feared for my wellbeing.
[...]
There are ten thousand therapist out there who would still say I was a victim at the hands of an abuser. I was not. I have every reason in the world to give in to what I have been told, and put all my problems on James, But James was not the problem! I was there. I know what happened, and I know how I felt. Maybe I'm the only boy in the world that had a loving caring relationship with an adult man but I doubt it. This is a true story, and all I'm asking is for you to realize that you are being fed a bunch of crap when you are told intergenerational relationships are always bad. They are not always bad and I am living proof. [...]
The Myth of Lost Innocence;
A New York Times Blog,
Jan 29 2009
At a journalism conference a couple of years ago, I met Linda Perlstein, the author of “Not Much Just Chillin’: The Hidden Lives of Middle Schoolers.” This meeting occurred right in the middle of the “rainbow party” craze – that is to say, the media frenzy around the alleged oral activities of oversexed (and lipsticked) tweens.[...]
I found myself thinking about Perlstein’s media follies this week, when I read Tara Parker-Pope’s article “The Myth of Rampant Teenage Promiscuity” in Science Times on Tuesday. For me it not only raised the issue of myth and reality (teens are, in truth, having sex less and later than they did a decade or two ago), but also brought to mind the stories that we tell and what people are willing to hear. [...]
Certain kinds of children have certain kinds of vulnerabilities that make them particularly susceptible to the toxic elements of our culture. This is true of those who do or don’t fall victim to stress and anxiety, and it’s true of those who do or don’t engage in too-early, too-risky sex. Certain kinds of policies can help children. (Abstinence-only sexual education clearly does not help in combating teen pregnancy.)
Certain kinds of parenting can help or hurt, too.
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At a journalism conference a couple of years ago, I met Linda Perlstein, the author of “Not Much Just Chillin’: The Hidden Lives of Middle Schoolers.” This meeting occurred right in the middle of the “rainbow party” craze – that is to say, the media frenzy around the alleged oral activities of oversexed (and lipsticked) tweens.[...]
I found myself thinking about Perlstein’s media follies this week, when I read Tara Parker-Pope’s article “The Myth of Rampant Teenage Promiscuity” in Science Times on Tuesday. For me it not only raised the issue of myth and reality (teens are, in truth, having sex less and later than they did a decade or two ago), but also brought to mind the stories that we tell and what people are willing to hear. [...]
Certain kinds of children have certain kinds of vulnerabilities that make them particularly susceptible to the toxic elements of our culture. This is true of those who do or don’t fall victim to stress and anxiety, and it’s true of those who do or don’t engage in too-early, too-risky sex. Certain kinds of policies can help children. (Abstinence-only sexual education clearly does not help in combating teen pregnancy.)
Certain kinds of parenting can help or hurt, too.
MEP demands paedophiles travel ban;
iclanarkshire.icnetwork,
May 16 2007
The disappearance of Madeleine McCann has led to a demand for an immediate ban on the free movement of convicted child sex offenders across Europe.
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The disappearance of Madeleine McCann has led to a demand for an immediate ban on the free movement of convicted child sex offenders across Europe.
My child does it with a pedophile;
'NIEUWE REVU' FOUND PARENTS WHO APPROVE OF IT,
May 05 1988
Sexual relations with minors are criminal. Also criminal are the parents who allow their children to have such contacts with adults. Even so, Nieuwe Revu found parents who accept such a relation. They tell from what motives they take that position and how they practically deal with this situation. "By now everyone is suspect because of Oude Pekela. It threatens to create a witch hunt."
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Sexual relations with minors are criminal. Also criminal are the parents who allow their children to have such contacts with adults. Even so, Nieuwe Revu found parents who accept such a relation. They tell from what motives they take that position and how they practically deal with this situation. "By now everyone is suspect because of Oude Pekela. It threatens to create a witch hunt."
Manufacturing Mental Disorder by Pathologizing Erotic Age Orientation;
Archives of Sexual Behavior;
2008(Publishe on line), ,
Oct 16 2008
Regrettably, [...]Blanchard et al. [2008] did not merely report on their research and draw appropriate conclusions. Instead, they recommended a potentially dramatic expansion or addition to the DSM diagnostic categories of mental disorders without any evidence or reasoning that those who would be newly included under the mental disorder rubric can be properly categorized as mentally disordered.
Blanchard et al. did not define mental disorder. They did not measure mental disorder. They did not examine associations with mental disorder. They did not provide reasoning that leads to a conclusion of mental disorder.
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Regrettably, [...]Blanchard et al. [2008] did not merely report on their research and draw appropriate conclusions. Instead, they recommended a potentially dramatic expansion or addition to the DSM diagnostic categories of mental disorders without any evidence or reasoning that those who would be newly included under the mental disorder rubric can be properly categorized as mentally disordered.
Blanchard et al. did not define mental disorder. They did not measure mental disorder. They did not examine associations with mental disorder. They did not provide reasoning that leads to a conclusion of mental disorder.
Masking hegemonic masculinity: reconstructing the paedophile as the dangerous stranger;
British journal of social work;
31(3), 399-414
In this article we argue that the current social construction of ‘the paedophile’ creates a media-orchestrated ‘moral panic’ that masks hegemonic masculinity and diverts attention from the extensive variety of forms of sexual abuse perpetrated upon women and children that take place in both the private and public domains.
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In this article we argue that the current social construction of ‘the paedophile’ creates a media-orchestrated ‘moral panic’ that masks hegemonic masculinity and diverts attention from the extensive variety of forms of sexual abuse perpetrated upon women and children that take place in both the private and public domains.
The memories linger on;
LM
Dr Michael Fitzpatrick asks why the professional reaction against this psychotherapeutic irrationality has been so slow and so muted.
The Brandon report is widely regarded as the final nail in the coffin of the recovered memory movement. Published in April this year in the form of an article: 'Recovered memories of child sexual abuse: implications for clinical practice', British Journal of Psychiatry, 172, S Brandon, J Boakes, D Glazer and R Green, the committee chaired by professor Sydney Brandon is categorical in its condemnation of the theory and practice of the movement.
Brandon's conclusion is that 'there is no evidence to support the wholesale forgetting of repeated experiences of abuse, nor of single episodes of brutality or sadistic assault, apart from the normal experience of infantile amnesia'.
[...]
The Brandon report notes that a significant proportion of abused children grow up to become well-adjusted adults, and that there is no evidence that childhood abuse leads to any specific pattern of symptoms in adults, or that recovering memories of abuse helps to alleviate such symptoms (indeed there is much evidence to the contrary).
Furthermore, the report insists that 'no evidence exists for the repression and recovery of verified, severely traumatic events, and their role in symptom formation has yet to be proved'.
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Dr Michael Fitzpatrick asks why the professional reaction against this psychotherapeutic irrationality has been so slow and so muted.
The Brandon report is widely regarded as the final nail in the coffin of the recovered memory movement. Published in April this year in the form of an article: 'Recovered memories of child sexual abuse: implications for clinical practice', British Journal of Psychiatry, 172, S Brandon, J Boakes, D Glazer and R Green, the committee chaired by professor Sydney Brandon is categorical in its condemnation of the theory and practice of the movement.
Brandon's conclusion is that 'there is no evidence to support the wholesale forgetting of repeated experiences of abuse, nor of single episodes of brutality or sadistic assault, apart from the normal experience of infantile amnesia'.
[...]
The Brandon report notes that a significant proportion of abused children grow up to become well-adjusted adults, and that there is no evidence that childhood abuse leads to any specific pattern of symptoms in adults, or that recovering memories of abuse helps to alleviate such symptoms (indeed there is much evidence to the contrary).
Furthermore, the report insists that 'no evidence exists for the repression and recovery of verified, severely traumatic events, and their role in symptom formation has yet to be proved'.
Memory and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy ...;
Memory;
August 2021,
Does Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy affect the accuracy of memories? This recurrent issue in recent memory research bears relevance to expert witness work in the courtroom. In this review, we will argue that several crucial aspects of EMDR may be detrimental to memory.
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Does Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy affect the accuracy of memories? This recurrent issue in recent memory research bears relevance to expert witness work in the courtroom. In this review, we will argue that several crucial aspects of EMDR may be detrimental to memory.
Michael Jackson’s Dangerous Liaisons - Review;
Archives of Sexual Behavior
This is an unusual book, especially for review in an academic journal. Its subject is pop icon Michael Jackson, one of the most famous, talented, and financially successful entertainers of all time — and also one of the strangest. Specifically, the book focuses on Jackson’s interest in children, and whether that interest was sexual in nature. The author, Tom O’Carroll (under the pseudonym ‘‘Carl Toms’’), is himself an unapologetic pedophile, and his pedophilia has influenced both his insight into Jackson and his aspirations for the book. [... ... ...]
This book is fascinating, challenging, and discomfiting. Anyone wanting to understand Michael Jackson will need to read it. [...] It certainly illuminates the most controversial aspect of Jackson’s life, one that was surely important to Jackson. [..]
Dangerous Liaisons is also worth reading for the challenges it raises regarding pedophilic relationships and their consequences. I suspect O’Carroll believes that this is a suitable tribute to Michael Jackson’s unfinished life.
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This is an unusual book, especially for review in an academic journal. Its subject is pop icon Michael Jackson, one of the most famous, talented, and financially successful entertainers of all time — and also one of the strangest. Specifically, the book focuses on Jackson’s interest in children, and whether that interest was sexual in nature. The author, Tom O’Carroll (under the pseudonym ‘‘Carl Toms’’), is himself an unapologetic pedophile, and his pedophilia has influenced both his insight into Jackson and his aspirations for the book. [... ... ...]
This book is fascinating, challenging, and discomfiting. Anyone wanting to understand Michael Jackson will need to read it. [...] It certainly illuminates the most controversial aspect of Jackson’s life, one that was surely important to Jackson. [..]
Dangerous Liaisons is also worth reading for the challenges it raises regarding pedophilic relationships and their consequences. I suspect O’Carroll believes that this is a suitable tribute to Michael Jackson’s unfinished life.
Minor Physical Anomalies as a Window into the Prenatal Origins of Pedophilia;
Archives of Sexual Behavior;
2015(564), ,
Jun 10 2015
Evidence is steadily accumulating to support a neurodevelopmental basis for pedophilia. This includes increased incidence of non-right-handedness, which is a result primarily of prenatal neural development and solidified very early in life. Minor physical anomalies (MPAs; superficial deviations from typical morphological development, such as un-detached earlobes) also develop only prenatally, suggesting them as another potential marker of atypical physiological development during the prenatal period among pedophiles.
This study administered the Waldrop Physical Anomaly Scale to assess the prevalence of MPAs in a clinical sample of men referred for assessment following a sexual assault, or another illegal or clinically significant sexual behavior.
Significant associations emerged between MPA indices and indicators of pedophilia, including penile responses to depictions of children, number of child victims, and possession of child pornography. Moreover, greater sexual attraction to children was associated with an elevated craniofacial-to-peripheral anomalies ratio. The overall sample demonstrated a greater number of MPAs relative to prior samples of individuals with schizophrenia as well as to healthy controls.
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Evidence is steadily accumulating to support a neurodevelopmental basis for pedophilia. This includes increased incidence of non-right-handedness, which is a result primarily of prenatal neural development and solidified very early in life. Minor physical anomalies (MPAs; superficial deviations from typical morphological development, such as un-detached earlobes) also develop only prenatally, suggesting them as another potential marker of atypical physiological development during the prenatal period among pedophiles.
This study administered the Waldrop Physical Anomaly Scale to assess the prevalence of MPAs in a clinical sample of men referred for assessment following a sexual assault, or another illegal or clinically significant sexual behavior.
Significant associations emerged between MPA indices and indicators of pedophilia, including penile responses to depictions of children, number of child victims, and possession of child pornography. Moreover, greater sexual attraction to children was associated with an elevated craniofacial-to-peripheral anomalies ratio. The overall sample demonstrated a greater number of MPAs relative to prior samples of individuals with schizophrenia as well as to healthy controls.
Minotaur Unveiled: The Truncated Account of Adult-Child Erotic Attraction;
Essays on Law, Policy and Psychiatry;
5,
Minotaur Unveiled: The Truncated Account of Adult-Child Erotic Attraction (Essays on Law, Policy and Psychiatry, Vol. 5) — 2019 Apple Books Edition — is a historical assessment of adult-child sexual relations as they are to be found not only in historical and forensic literature, but also in the poetic writings of many famous authors around the world. [...]
The study establishes a basis for the view that adult-child sexual interaction is a universal phenomenon that passes over cultural and epochal borders. [...]
Sadly, many of those adult-child sexual relations were and are the result of social and moral corruption and have to be called abusive and exploitative.
The article gives links to the PDF edition and the paperback edition of the book.
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Minotaur Unveiled: The Truncated Account of Adult-Child Erotic Attraction (Essays on Law, Policy and Psychiatry, Vol. 5) — 2019 Apple Books Edition — is a historical assessment of adult-child sexual relations as they are to be found not only in historical and forensic literature, but also in the poetic writings of many famous authors around the world. [...]
The study establishes a basis for the view that adult-child sexual interaction is a universal phenomenon that passes over cultural and epochal borders. [...]
Sadly, many of those adult-child sexual relations were and are the result of social and moral corruption and have to be called abusive and exploitative.
The article gives links to the PDF edition and the paperback edition of the book.
Misinterpretation of a Primary Prevention Effort;
Child Abuse Accusations, 6(2), 96-107. (1994).;
1994(6(2), ), 96-107.,
Jan 01 1994
In 1990, Ralph Underwager and Hollida Wakefield gave an interview to the editor of Paidika, The Journal of Paedophilia, a scholarly journal published in Holland. The interview was published in 1993.
Since that time, statements from the interview have been taken out-of-context and misinterpreted as indicating that RU and HW approve of pedophilia and child sexual abuse.
Here, they respond to these criticisms and accusations.
The authors add an Appendix: A Proposal: Primary Prevention Program for Child Sexual Abuse.
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In 1990, Ralph Underwager and Hollida Wakefield gave an interview to the editor of Paidika, The Journal of Paedophilia, a scholarly journal published in Holland. The interview was published in 1993.
Since that time, statements from the interview have been taken out-of-context and misinterpreted as indicating that RU and HW approve of pedophilia and child sexual abuse.
Here, they respond to these criticisms and accusations.
The authors add an Appendix: A Proposal: Primary Prevention Program for Child Sexual Abuse.
The Myth of Rampant Teenage Promiscuity;
New York Times,
Jan 27 2009
The myth of the rampant teenage promiscuity is simply not true. Teens are more conservative now, less busy with sex, and far more careful in preventing unwanted births. In the long term, those births are lessened. Frequently, oral sex replaces genital sex.
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The myth of the rampant teenage promiscuity is simply not true. Teens are more conservative now, less busy with sex, and far more careful in preventing unwanted births. In the long term, those births are lessened. Frequently, oral sex replaces genital sex.
Myths and misconceptions about sex offenders.;
The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality.;
6(4), ,
Sep 01 1997
One of the clearest articles addressing the current sad state of affairs regarding valid research on the topic of pedophilia.
Individuals who commit sex crimes present problems for everyone who deals with or is affected by them. Among those who commit such crimes, some are caught, some are convicted, and some are eventually sent to mental health care providers. Although many are never caught and never get help, a growing number seek help through such avenues as: self-help groups like Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous; chat-rooms on the internet; reading books and watching afternoon talk shows; or presenting with vague or unusual complaints (e.g., "Doc, I think I like sex too much"). They are, by definition, criminal and they are always in hiding, despised even by other criminals. They are the subject of increasing media attention which is at once salacious, superficially probing, and almost universally condemning. Victims of sex crimes have become increasingly vocal and have lobbied for the attention of politicians who, in turn, have become convinced that sex crimes are a new epidemic which cries out for corrective legislative countermeasures.
With so many powerful interest groups converging on the issue of sex offenders and what to do with them, it is important that the scientific community be sure of what it is saying. It is important that mental health experts make clear how much of what they are saying is opinion and how much is known scientifically. When a statement is communicated as a fact, it is important that the reasons for believing it and the limitations of evidence supporting the "fact" be stated.
The topic of treatment of sex offenders is a "hot potato" that, if not handled correctly, will damage the reputation of the mental health field. Unfortunately, this is among the most complex, controversial, and political topics faced by mental health care professionals. There seems to be something about sex that makes even scientists stop thinking logically.
[...]
Statements that are poorly supported by the scientific literature are made daily about the nature of sex offenders, even by experts. The purpose of this paper is to alert those who deal with sexual offences and sex offenders to some common assumptions that are poorly supported by scientific evidence.
;
One of the clearest articles addressing the current sad state of affairs regarding valid research on the topic of pedophilia.
Individuals who commit sex crimes present problems for everyone who deals with or is affected by them. Among those who commit such crimes, some are caught, some are convicted, and some are eventually sent to mental health care providers. Although many are never caught and never get help, a growing number seek help through such avenues as: self-help groups like Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous; chat-rooms on the internet; reading books and watching afternoon talk shows; or presenting with vague or unusual complaints (e.g., "Doc, I think I like sex too much"). They are, by definition, criminal and they are always in hiding, despised even by other criminals. They are the subject of increasing media attention which is at once salacious, superficially probing, and almost universally condemning. Victims of sex crimes have become increasingly vocal and have lobbied for the attention of politicians who, in turn, have become convinced that sex crimes are a new epidemic which cries out for corrective legislative countermeasures.
With so many powerful interest groups converging on the issue of sex offenders and what to do with them, it is important that the scientific community be sure of what it is saying. It is important that mental health experts make clear how much of what they are saying is opinion and how much is known scientifically. When a statement is communicated as a fact, it is important that the reasons for believing it and the limitations of evidence supporting the "fact" be stated.
The topic of treatment of sex offenders is a "hot potato" that, if not handled correctly, will damage the reputation of the mental health field. Unfortunately, this is among the most complex, controversial, and political topics faced by mental health care professionals. There seems to be something about sex that makes even scientists stop thinking logically.
[...]
Statements that are poorly supported by the scientific literature are made daily about the nature of sex offenders, even by experts. The purpose of this paper is to alert those who deal with sexual offences and sex offenders to some common assumptions that are poorly supported by scientific evidence.