The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States,
Feb 01 2004
The study of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests and deacons resulting in this report was authorized and paid for by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) pursuant to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Charter) unanimously adopted by the USCCB at its June 2002 meeting. The Charter called for many responses to this victimization of minors within the Catholic Church.
Article 9 of the Charter provided for the creation of a lay body, the National Review Board, which was mandated (among other things) to commission a descriptive study of the nature and scope of the problem of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Accordingly, the Board approached John Jay College of Criminal Justice to conduct such a study. The College assembled an experienced team of researchers with expertise in the areas of forensic psychology, criminology, and human behavior, and, working with the Board, formulated a methodology to address the study mandate.
Data collection commenced in March 2003, and ended in February 2004. The information contained in this report is based upon surveys provided by 195 dioceses, representing 98% all diocesan priests in the United States, and 140 religious communities, representing approximately 60% of religious communities and 80% of all religious priests.
The mandate for the study was to:
1. Examine the number and nature of allegations of sexual abuse of minors under the age of 18 by Catholic priests between 1950 and 2002.
2. Collect information about the alleged abusers, including official status in the church, age, number of victims, responses by the church and legal authorities to the allegations of abuse, and other characteristics of the alleged abusers.
3. Collect information about the characteristics of the alleged victims, the nature of their relationship to the alleged abusers, the nature of the abuse, and the time frame within which the allegations are reported.
4. Accumulate information about the financial impact of the abuse on the Church.
Three surveys provide the data for this study.
The full report contains more detailed and additional analyses related to the information provided above.
This report is descriptive in nature. Future reports will examine the relationships among the variables described here in more detail and will be multivariate and analytic in nature.
;
The study of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests and deacons resulting in this report was authorized and paid for by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) pursuant to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Charter) unanimously adopted by the USCCB at its June 2002 meeting. The Charter called for many responses to this victimization of minors within the Catholic Church.
Article 9 of the Charter provided for the creation of a lay body, the National Review Board, which was mandated (among other things) to commission a descriptive study of the nature and scope of the problem of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Accordingly, the Board approached John Jay College of Criminal Justice to conduct such a study. The College assembled an experienced team of researchers with expertise in the areas of forensic psychology, criminology, and human behavior, and, working with the Board, formulated a methodology to address the study mandate.
Data collection commenced in March 2003, and ended in February 2004. The information contained in this report is based upon surveys provided by 195 dioceses, representing 98% all diocesan priests in the United States, and 140 religious communities, representing approximately 60% of religious communities and 80% of all religious priests.
The mandate for the study was to:
1. Examine the number and nature of allegations of sexual abuse of minors under the age of 18 by Catholic priests between 1950 and 2002.
2. Collect information about the alleged abusers, including official status in the church, age, number of victims, responses by the church and legal authorities to the allegations of abuse, and other characteristics of the alleged abusers.
3. Collect information about the characteristics of the alleged victims, the nature of their relationship to the alleged abusers, the nature of the abuse, and the time frame within which the allegations are reported.
4. Accumulate information about the financial impact of the abuse on the Church.
Three surveys provide the data for this study.
The full report contains more detailed and additional analyses related to the information provided above.
This report is descriptive in nature. Future reports will examine the relationships among the variables described here in more detail and will be multivariate and analytic in nature.
New US Sentencing Commission report on the history of federal child porn guidelines,
Oct 30 2009
This report provides a history of the child pornography guidelines, which were initially promulgated in 1987 and substantively revised nine times in the following 22 years. [...]
Congress has demonstrated its continued interest in deterring and punishing child pornography offenses, prompting the Commission to respond to multiple public laws that created new child pornography offenses, increased criminal penalties, directly (and uniquely) amended the child pornography guidelines, and required the Commission to consider offender and offense characteristics for the child pornography guidelines.
Sentencing courts have also expressed comment on the perceived severity of the child pornography guidelines through increased below-guidelines variance and downward departure rates. Consistent with the Commission’s duties to review and revise the guidelines, and the Supreme Court’s direction, the Commission has established a review of the child pornography guidelines [...]
;
This report provides a history of the child pornography guidelines, which were initially promulgated in 1987 and substantively revised nine times in the following 22 years. [...]
Congress has demonstrated its continued interest in deterring and punishing child pornography offenses, prompting the Commission to respond to multiple public laws that created new child pornography offenses, increased criminal penalties, directly (and uniquely) amended the child pornography guidelines, and required the Commission to consider offender and offense characteristics for the child pornography guidelines.
Sentencing courts have also expressed comment on the perceived severity of the child pornography guidelines through increased below-guidelines variance and downward departure rates. Consistent with the Commission’s duties to review and revise the guidelines, and the Supreme Court’s direction, the Commission has established a review of the child pornography guidelines [...]
Pedophilia and DSM-5;
Journal of American Academic Psychiatry Law 42:404 –7, 2014;
42(4), 404 - 407
Psychiatric terminology should convey information in as clear and unambiguous a manner as possible. In light of the associated stigma, that is especially so of the terms Pedophilia and Pedophilic Disorder. Although from a psychiatric perspective the term Pedophilia is intended to define a recognized clinical entity, in the collective consciousness of contemporary society, the term has become a demonizing pejorative.
Many in society are likely to equate Pedophilia with child molestation. They are not the same. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) may be contributing inadvertently to the misconception that they are the same ...
Berlin defends to view Pedophilia as a Sexual Orientation, thus not by definition as a distortion.
;
Psychiatric terminology should convey information in as clear and unambiguous a manner as possible. In light of the associated stigma, that is especially so of the terms Pedophilia and Pedophilic Disorder. Although from a psychiatric perspective the term Pedophilia is intended to define a recognized clinical entity, in the collective consciousness of contemporary society, the term has become a demonizing pejorative.
Many in society are likely to equate Pedophilia with child molestation. They are not the same. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) may be contributing inadvertently to the misconception that they are the same ...
Berlin defends to view Pedophilia as a Sexual Orientation, thus not by definition as a distortion.
Pedophiles, Hebephiles and Ephebophiles ...,
Jul 01 2009
In this column presented by Scientific American Mind magazine, research psychologist Jesse Bering of Queen's University Belfast ponders some of the more obscure aspects of everyday human behavior. Ever wonder why yawning is contagious, why we point with our index fingers instead of our thumbs or whether being breastfed as an infant influences your sexual preferences as an adult? Get a closer look at the latest data as "bering in Mind" tackles these and other quirky questions about human nature.
"Michael Jackson probably wasn’t a pedophile — at least, not in the strict, biological sense of the word. It’s a morally loaded term, pedophile, that has become synonymous with the very basest of evils. (...) But according to sex researchers, it’s also a grossly misused term."
;
In this column presented by Scientific American Mind magazine, research psychologist Jesse Bering of Queen's University Belfast ponders some of the more obscure aspects of everyday human behavior. Ever wonder why yawning is contagious, why we point with our index fingers instead of our thumbs or whether being breastfed as an infant influences your sexual preferences as an adult? Get a closer look at the latest data as "bering in Mind" tackles these and other quirky questions about human nature.
"Michael Jackson probably wasn’t a pedophile — at least, not in the strict, biological sense of the word. It’s a morally loaded term, pedophile, that has become synonymous with the very basest of evils. (...) But according to sex researchers, it’s also a grossly misused term."
Truth test' to uncover false rape allegations,
Oct 31 2000
A "lie-detector" test to help uncover false allegations of rape is being developed by the police and criminologists.
Between 10 and 41 per cent of allegations of rape are made up by the "victim", according to previous research. In the new test, a claimant's statement is analysed and points are given from a list of set clues - people who have made up a rape allegation get a low score, while genuine complaints get a high score.
;
A "lie-detector" test to help uncover false allegations of rape is being developed by the police and criminologists.
Between 10 and 41 per cent of allegations of rape are made up by the "victim", according to previous research. In the new test, a claimant's statement is analysed and points are given from a list of set clues - people who have made up a rape allegation get a low score, while genuine complaints get a high score.
On Boys and Boy-lovers,
Jan 01 1997
This paper recognizes that all non-consensual, forced sexual contacts are inherently criminal, but it also asserts that all consensual contacts should be legal, not limited on a 'moral' basis by government. Furthermore, the 'moral' basis currently embraced by society has been shown to be more complicated than its proponents assume; sometimes their 'morality' is highly questionable.
;
This paper recognizes that all non-consensual, forced sexual contacts are inherently criminal, but it also asserts that all consensual contacts should be legal, not limited on a 'moral' basis by government. Furthermore, the 'moral' basis currently embraced by society has been shown to be more complicated than its proponents assume; sometimes their 'morality' is highly questionable.
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.
;
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.
DSM Revision 5 - Comment on Entry for Pedophilia - B4U-ACT
The DSM’s diagnostic criteria and accompanying text for pedophilia have a profound influence on the accuracy of the professional literature and on the extent to which minor-attracted people (MAPs) are stigmatized by it, which in turn affects their willingness to seek mental health services. This comment analyzes the proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and the DSM-IV-TR accompanying text for pedophilia for accuracy and potential sources of stigma. (The DSM-IV-TR accompanying text is examined because the proposed DSM-5 accompanying text has not been made publicly available for comment.) Then, this comment uses survey results to demonstrate the extent to which MAPs actually feel stigmatized by the DSM and related literature, and how this contributes to their reluctance to seek mental health services. Finally, it proposes guidelines for revising the DSM so that it will serve its professed purpose of helping practitioners identify the needs of their clients.
;
The DSM’s diagnostic criteria and accompanying text for pedophilia have a profound influence on the accuracy of the professional literature and on the extent to which minor-attracted people (MAPs) are stigmatized by it, which in turn affects their willingness to seek mental health services. This comment analyzes the proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and the DSM-IV-TR accompanying text for pedophilia for accuracy and potential sources of stigma. (The DSM-IV-TR accompanying text is examined because the proposed DSM-5 accompanying text has not been made publicly available for comment.) Then, this comment uses survey results to demonstrate the extent to which MAPs actually feel stigmatized by the DSM and related literature, and how this contributes to their reluctance to seek mental health services. Finally, it proposes guidelines for revising the DSM so that it will serve its professed purpose of helping practitioners identify the needs of their clients.
The Origins of Peace and Violence (Website) Deprivation of Physical Affection as a Main Cause of Depression, Aggression and Drug Abuse
This is a copy of the content page a website with articles and books about the connection between oppressing childhood sexuality and depression and violence in later life.
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This is a copy of the content page a website with articles and books about the connection between oppressing childhood sexuality and depression and violence in later life.
You would never want to harm a child, would you?,
Mar 01 2012
Intimacy can be desired or undesired. Everybody is aware of this. It has become increasingly clear how serious and long-lasting the effects of undesired intimacy can be. However besotted you may be with a child, that does not make the child your property. The child belongs to the child. But... maybe it is possible for you to have a close relationship with the child.
The Martijn Association advises all its members to observe the law and to act in accordance with the following guidelines. Exercise integrity in all situations involving children while respecting:
;
Intimacy can be desired or undesired. Everybody is aware of this. It has become increasingly clear how serious and long-lasting the effects of undesired intimacy can be. However besotted you may be with a child, that does not make the child your property. The child belongs to the child. But... maybe it is possible for you to have a close relationship with the child.
The Martijn Association advises all its members to observe the law and to act in accordance with the following guidelines. Exercise integrity in all situations involving children while respecting:
- Consent: the consent of both in every contact.
- Freedom: freedom for the child to end the contact if desired.
- Harmony: acting in accordance with the child’s development.
- Openness: openness towards the parents, especially in the case of young children.
Priest In Boston Clergy Scandal Denied New Trial;
,
Nov 27 2009
One of the central figures in Boston's clergy sex abuse scandal [Paul Shanley] lost his bid for a new trial yesterday when a judge ruled a victim's repressed memories were rightly used against the defrocked priest.
One of the central figures in Boston's clergy sex abuse scandal [Paul Shanley] lost his bid for a new trial yesterday when a judge ruled a victim's repressed memories were rightly used against the defrocked priest.
Child Sexual Abuse: The Sources of Anxiety Making and the Negative Effects;
IPT Journal;
18,
Conclusion
Christian belief about child sexuality and feminist ideations have more in common than is generally thought. Together they have negatively influenced the perception of child sexual abuse.
With the active collaboration of professionals and lay persons, undue alarm was created about the sexual morality of children being in great danger. This led to the exaggeration of child sexual abuse at the expense of other more frequently occurring, and also under-reported, other abuses of children.
It seemed to be the sexual moral nature of the abuse that attracted these protagonists, rather than a genuine concern about child protection. This surreptitious moral concern spilled over into other areas of child sexuality (such as "problematic sexual behaviors" and "child sexualization").
As outlined, the moral and ideological thrust of the child sexual abuse exaggeration has come at considerable cost, particularly to families and children. It is only balanced and rational research, and sober and objective professional analysis, that may turn the tide in the decades to come.
;
Conclusion
Christian belief about child sexuality and feminist ideations have more in common than is generally thought. Together they have negatively influenced the perception of child sexual abuse.
With the active collaboration of professionals and lay persons, undue alarm was created about the sexual morality of children being in great danger. This led to the exaggeration of child sexual abuse at the expense of other more frequently occurring, and also under-reported, other abuses of children.
It seemed to be the sexual moral nature of the abuse that attracted these protagonists, rather than a genuine concern about child protection. This surreptitious moral concern spilled over into other areas of child sexuality (such as "problematic sexual behaviors" and "child sexualization").
As outlined, the moral and ideological thrust of the child sexual abuse exaggeration has come at considerable cost, particularly to families and children. It is only balanced and rational research, and sober and objective professional analysis, that may turn the tide in the decades to come.
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. [...]
;
[...] 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. [...]
Famous Quotes on Boylove
Quotes about boy love (loving boys), seen from the perspectives of women, men, scientists and journalists.
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Quotes about boy love (loving boys), seen from the perspectives of women, men, scientists and journalists.
Deferred prosecution for softcore child porn,
Jan 11 2017
In the early 2010s, I was one of many targets of a national police raid against child pornography, in a Western European country. The reason they paid me a visit was that I had saved a few softcore images of young girls in a private web album. ... A prosecutor decided to offer me deferred prosecution because the pictures I had uploaded were “not that serious”. ... I had to sign a contract which mainly meant that I agreed to undergo a psychiatric, polyclinic “treatment” at a forensic clinic, as an outpatient. I was not allowed to choose an external therapist or sexologist of my own liking, but I simply had to accept whatever they would impose on me. I decided to agree, because the alternative would be a public court case that could easily affect my whole life.
[...]
At the clinic, it soon became clear that anyone with paedophilic feelings was automatically seen as a psychiatric patient. ... Predictably, all this was quite humiliating, dehumanising and alienating for me. ... Anything you said could and often would be used to increase the pathologising of your particular case. . . . Any type of erotic attraction to children would in itself be pathological and this was also true for a child’s attraction to an adult.
;
In the early 2010s, I was one of many targets of a national police raid against child pornography, in a Western European country. The reason they paid me a visit was that I had saved a few softcore images of young girls in a private web album. ... A prosecutor decided to offer me deferred prosecution because the pictures I had uploaded were “not that serious”. ... I had to sign a contract which mainly meant that I agreed to undergo a psychiatric, polyclinic “treatment” at a forensic clinic, as an outpatient. I was not allowed to choose an external therapist or sexologist of my own liking, but I simply had to accept whatever they would impose on me. I decided to agree, because the alternative would be a public court case that could easily affect my whole life.
[...]
At the clinic, it soon became clear that anyone with paedophilic feelings was automatically seen as a psychiatric patient. ... Predictably, all this was quite humiliating, dehumanising and alienating for me. ... Anything you said could and often would be used to increase the pathologising of your particular case. . . . Any type of erotic attraction to children would in itself be pathological and this was also true for a child’s attraction to an adult.
No Thanks for the Memories
Repressed Memory Therapy (RMT) is based on the theory that certain dysfunctional behaviors and mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, bulimia, sexual inhibition, and anorexia, stem from childhood traumas such as physical or, more commonly, sexual abuse. In patients who exhibit no known history of trauma, but display severe behavior dysfunction, RMT uses a variety of techniques to "recover" a repressed memory of physical or sexual abuse. ...
Many RMT clients recalled memories of being forced into sexual acts, engaging in cannibal-ism, brutally slaughtering of animals for sacrifice, and even being coerced into allegedly murdering children or babies as part of cult rituals.
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Repressed Memory Therapy (RMT) is based on the theory that certain dysfunctional behaviors and mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, bulimia, sexual inhibition, and anorexia, stem from childhood traumas such as physical or, more commonly, sexual abuse. In patients who exhibit no known history of trauma, but display severe behavior dysfunction, RMT uses a variety of techniques to "recover" a repressed memory of physical or sexual abuse. ...
Many RMT clients recalled memories of being forced into sexual acts, engaging in cannibal-ism, brutally slaughtering of animals for sacrifice, and even being coerced into allegedly murdering children or babies as part of cult rituals.
Prohibited Sexual Behavior and Sexual Violence: Adult Sexual Contact with Children
[...] However, it is important to understand two basic facts:
1. Not every adult who has sexual contact with a child is a pedophile, and
2. not every pedophile has sexual contact with a child.
[...] most sexual offenses against children are committed not by pedophiles, but by non-pedophilic men.
[...] Many pedophiles manage to control their urges. Some even deliberately avoid the company of children. This self-control is the goal of preventive therapy
programs for pedophiles, since their sexual interests are not likely to change.
[...] Children are girls and boys before puberty. Only the desire for sexual contact with them should be called “pedophilia”.
[...] Current treatments try, above all, to prevent them from breaking the law. Thus, training a pedophile to live with his fantasies without acting them out protects both him and the children he meets.
[...] Legal Aspects ... Psychological Aspects ... Incest ... Child Protitution ... Chidls Pornography ...
;
[...] However, it is important to understand two basic facts:
1. Not every adult who has sexual contact with a child is a pedophile, and
2. not every pedophile has sexual contact with a child.
[...] most sexual offenses against children are committed not by pedophiles, but by non-pedophilic men.
[...] Many pedophiles manage to control their urges. Some even deliberately avoid the company of children. This self-control is the goal of preventive therapy
programs for pedophiles, since their sexual interests are not likely to change.
[...] Children are girls and boys before puberty. Only the desire for sexual contact with them should be called “pedophilia”.
[...] Current treatments try, above all, to prevent them from breaking the law. Thus, training a pedophile to live with his fantasies without acting them out protects both him and the children he meets.
[...] Legal Aspects ... Psychological Aspects ... Incest ... Child Protitution ... Chidls Pornography ...
Does America Really Need Its Own Holocaust?
Where are we heading with all this? Will America be satisfied with nothing less than a holocaust perpetrated against anyone who has violated its sexual norms? It seems unthinkable that people who consider themselves progressives should be silent on this issue, and should even, at times, be in the forefront of those who are invested in continuing to ratchet up the sex abuse panic.
The following letter was submitted with two newspaper articles -- one from the New York Times and one from the Los Angeles Times -- to a town council that was considering a proposal that would prevent sex offenders from living within a half-mile of schools and various other places where there might be children...
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Where are we heading with all this? Will America be satisfied with nothing less than a holocaust perpetrated against anyone who has violated its sexual norms? It seems unthinkable that people who consider themselves progressives should be silent on this issue, and should even, at times, be in the forefront of those who are invested in continuing to ratchet up the sex abuse panic.
The following letter was submitted with two newspaper articles -- one from the New York Times and one from the Los Angeles Times -- to a town council that was considering a proposal that would prevent sex offenders from living within a half-mile of schools and various other places where there might be children...
Historicizing affect, psychoanalyzing history: pedophilia and the discourse of child sexuality;
Journal of Homosexuality;
46(Februari), 79 - 109
Within the last two decades in Australia, Britain, and the United States, we have seen a veritable explosion of cultural panic regarding the problem of pedophilia. Scarcely a day passes without some mention in the media of predatory pedophiles or organized pedophile networks. Many social constructionist historians and sociologists have described this incitement to discourse as indicative of a moral panic.
[...]
Here, I will suggest a repressed discourse of child sexuality is writ large. I will argue that the hegemonic discourse of pedophilia is contained largely within a neurotic structure and that many of our prevailing responses to pedophilia function as a way to avoid tackling crucial issues about the reality and trauma of childhood sexuality.
The question that concerns me in this article is: If this incitement to discourse is indicative of a moral panic, to what does the panic refer?
;
Within the last two decades in Australia, Britain, and the United States, we have seen a veritable explosion of cultural panic regarding the problem of pedophilia. Scarcely a day passes without some mention in the media of predatory pedophiles or organized pedophile networks. Many social constructionist historians and sociologists have described this incitement to discourse as indicative of a moral panic.
[...]
Here, I will suggest a repressed discourse of child sexuality is writ large. I will argue that the hegemonic discourse of pedophilia is contained largely within a neurotic structure and that many of our prevailing responses to pedophilia function as a way to avoid tackling crucial issues about the reality and trauma of childhood sexuality.
The question that concerns me in this article is: If this incitement to discourse is indicative of a moral panic, to what does the panic refer?
Subjectivity under Erasure: Adolescent Sexuality, Gender, and Teacher-Student Sex;
The Journal of Men’s Studies, Vol. 15, No. 3, Fall 2007, 347-360.;
15(3, Fall 2007), The Journal of Men’s Studies, Vol. 15, No. 3, Fall 2007, 347-360.
This article offers a reading of a recent Australian teacher-student sex scandal
in order to interrogate the relationship between gendered subjectivity and cultural codes of gender.
The questions of whether gender ought to make a difference to how we understand instances of so-called “intergenerational sex” and whether cultural codes accurately reflect sexual subjectivity are posed.
It is argued that while cultural codes are not external or equivalent to subjectivity, this does not mean that they are not expressive of elements of subjectivity.
The article concludes with the suggestion that the failure to attend to the nexus
of the social and the psychical not only serves to strengthen a very recent and
particular set of historical, political, and ideological forces but also risks creating foundations for misreadings of the history of male adolescent subjectivities.
;
This article offers a reading of a recent Australian teacher-student sex scandal
in order to interrogate the relationship between gendered subjectivity and cultural codes of gender.
The questions of whether gender ought to make a difference to how we understand instances of so-called “intergenerational sex” and whether cultural codes accurately reflect sexual subjectivity are posed.
It is argued that while cultural codes are not external or equivalent to subjectivity, this does not mean that they are not expressive of elements of subjectivity.
The article concludes with the suggestion that the failure to attend to the nexus
of the social and the psychical not only serves to strengthen a very recent and
particular set of historical, political, and ideological forces but also risks creating foundations for misreadings of the history of male adolescent subjectivities.
Paedophilia and the Misrecognition of Desire
This article is not concerned with adjudicating the question of whether or not the cultural incidence of paedophilia has increased. It aims instead to interrogate the conceptual ground upon which recent efforts to identify the paedophile and paedophilic activity have pivoted.
The hegemonic domain for the propagation of paedophilia research has been the field of psychopathology. I argue that this field has profoundly 'misrecognised' paedophilia. In outlining this, I propose that the study of abnormal psychology must engage psychoanalytic, feminist, and deconstructive critiques of identity, and that it must resist the temptation to affix an ontological essence to the 'paedophile'. I conclude with the suggestion that only when research methodologies take seriously the question of the prevalence of intergenerational sexual desire in the general population can we even begin to understand paedophilia. [...]
I would argue that the major obstacle in the field of paedophilia research is itself a methodological reliance on an epistemology of identity and a politics of identification ('I am this' / 's/he is that').
The least productive way of approaching the problem is to identify the quintessential paedophile character profile or essentialised 'type'. [...]
Behaviour and desire do not equal identity.
;
This article is not concerned with adjudicating the question of whether or not the cultural incidence of paedophilia has increased. It aims instead to interrogate the conceptual ground upon which recent efforts to identify the paedophile and paedophilic activity have pivoted.
The hegemonic domain for the propagation of paedophilia research has been the field of psychopathology. I argue that this field has profoundly 'misrecognised' paedophilia. In outlining this, I propose that the study of abnormal psychology must engage psychoanalytic, feminist, and deconstructive critiques of identity, and that it must resist the temptation to affix an ontological essence to the 'paedophile'. I conclude with the suggestion that only when research methodologies take seriously the question of the prevalence of intergenerational sexual desire in the general population can we even begin to understand paedophilia. [...]
I would argue that the major obstacle in the field of paedophilia research is itself a methodological reliance on an epistemology of identity and a politics of identification ('I am this' / 's/he is that').
The least productive way of approaching the problem is to identify the quintessential paedophile character profile or essentialised 'type'. [...]
Behaviour and desire do not equal identity.
Feminism, Child Sexual Abuse, and the Erasure of Child Sexuality;
GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies;
10(2), 141 - 177
In the 1970s the child protection lobby and feminism together spearheaded a painstaking interrogation and politicization of the social problem of child sexual abuse.
...
By the 1980s a powerful discourse of child sexual abuse was working hard to expose the widespread problem of incest in the patriarchal family and was vigorously contesting legal definitions of abuse that ignored or downplayed nonpenetrative sexual acts.
...
The myth of stranger danger was found ....
...
In a significant reversal of the common twentieth-century tendency of victim
blaming, the innocent, powerless, blameless, and unconsenting “victim” and “survivor” of sexual abuse became key cultural terms.
...
The “rediscovery” of child sexual abuse — perhaps more accurately called
a “reinterpretation” — has been profoundly important for Western culture.
...
This essay suggests that, despite admirable efforts to empower children and protect them from the harmful consequences of sexual abuse, they have in one particularly notable way been disempowered and disarmed by the child sexual abuse movement.
...
I argue that the discourse of child sexual abuse has expanded at the expense of a discourse of child sexuality. Rigorous attempts to expose the reality and dynamics of child sexual abuse have been aided, if not in part made possible, by equally rigorous attempts to conceal, repress, or ignore the reality and dynamics of child sexuality.
... ... ... ... ... ...
Queer theory offers an important corrective to the culturally prevailing linear and sequential model of age stratification and sexual development. In its psychoanalytic form, queer theory has inherited from Freud the idea that sexuality involves not a chronological unfolding of distinct stages of sexual development but an interminable interplay between these stages.
...
In a contemporary context of escalating anxiety and panic surrounding pedophilia and child sexual abuse, it is increasingly difficult, and perhaps for this reason all the more imperative, for queer studies to problematize the cultural and relational construction of age, child sexuality, and subjectivity.
;
In the 1970s the child protection lobby and feminism together spearheaded a painstaking interrogation and politicization of the social problem of child sexual abuse.
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By the 1980s a powerful discourse of child sexual abuse was working hard to expose the widespread problem of incest in the patriarchal family and was vigorously contesting legal definitions of abuse that ignored or downplayed nonpenetrative sexual acts.
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The myth of stranger danger was found ....
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In a significant reversal of the common twentieth-century tendency of victim
blaming, the innocent, powerless, blameless, and unconsenting “victim” and “survivor” of sexual abuse became key cultural terms.
...
The “rediscovery” of child sexual abuse — perhaps more accurately called
a “reinterpretation” — has been profoundly important for Western culture.
...
This essay suggests that, despite admirable efforts to empower children and protect them from the harmful consequences of sexual abuse, they have in one particularly notable way been disempowered and disarmed by the child sexual abuse movement.
...
I argue that the discourse of child sexual abuse has expanded at the expense of a discourse of child sexuality. Rigorous attempts to expose the reality and dynamics of child sexual abuse have been aided, if not in part made possible, by equally rigorous attempts to conceal, repress, or ignore the reality and dynamics of child sexuality.
... ... ... ... ... ...
Queer theory offers an important corrective to the culturally prevailing linear and sequential model of age stratification and sexual development. In its psychoanalytic form, queer theory has inherited from Freud the idea that sexuality involves not a chronological unfolding of distinct stages of sexual development but an interminable interplay between these stages.
...
In a contemporary context of escalating anxiety and panic surrounding pedophilia and child sexual abuse, it is increasingly difficult, and perhaps for this reason all the more imperative, for queer studies to problematize the cultural and relational construction of age, child sexuality, and subjectivity.
The Big Chill
Verizon's decision last month to shut off a Montreal ISP for hosting edgy gay chat boards points to a colder, grayer internet ahead.
When it comes to freedom on the net, lately a lot's been storming and crashing.
The Epifora case could establish important new legal principles. More likely, it will be one more step in the transition of the internet from messy democratic forum into a frigid private shopping mall, ringed with surveillance cameras, with many doors marked "no entry," free expression be damned.
;
Verizon's decision last month to shut off a Montreal ISP for hosting edgy gay chat boards points to a colder, grayer internet ahead.
When it comes to freedom on the net, lately a lot's been storming and crashing.
The Epifora case could establish important new legal principles. More likely, it will be one more step in the transition of the internet from messy democratic forum into a frigid private shopping mall, ringed with surveillance cameras, with many doors marked "no entry," free expression be damned.
Experts able to plant false memories in minds
New research into the human memory has found that it is possible to plant false memories in the human mind that can have significant long-term effects on behaviour.
The new study could have significant implications for recovered memories involving abuse - previous research has claimed that it is possible for people to create false memories of being abused as a child, when memories are recovered through suggestive therapy.
;
New research into the human memory has found that it is possible to plant false memories in the human mind that can have significant long-term effects on behaviour.
The new study could have significant implications for recovered memories involving abuse - previous research has claimed that it is possible for people to create false memories of being abused as a child, when memories are recovered through suggestive therapy.
Legal, Social, and Biological Definitions of Pedophilia;
Archives of sexual behavior;
19(4), 333-341
Although there is substantial evidence in the historical and anthropological record of the sexual use of children by adults, surprisingly little is known about the etiology of pedophilia or its relation to other forms of sexual aggression. After briefly reviewing the research on pedophilia, we argue that one major difficulty in conducting or interpreting such research lies in the different definitions “pedophilia” has received. Most important, much of the research has accepted a legal definition of pedophilia, treating all offenders convicted of “child molestation” as pedophiles, regardless of the age or appearance of the victim. We argue that a distinction should be made between biological children and socio-legal children. Laws governing child molestation reflect sociolegal childhood, regardless of its discrepancy with biological childhood.“True” pedophiles should be identified by their preference for biological children. [A]
By using legal classifications, researchers may well be confusing two distinct types of offenders, child molesters and rapists, and confounding attempts to understand pedophilia.
;
Although there is substantial evidence in the historical and anthropological record of the sexual use of children by adults, surprisingly little is known about the etiology of pedophilia or its relation to other forms of sexual aggression. After briefly reviewing the research on pedophilia, we argue that one major difficulty in conducting or interpreting such research lies in the different definitions “pedophilia” has received. Most important, much of the research has accepted a legal definition of pedophilia, treating all offenders convicted of “child molestation” as pedophiles, regardless of the age or appearance of the victim. We argue that a distinction should be made between biological children and socio-legal children. Laws governing child molestation reflect sociolegal childhood, regardless of its discrepancy with biological childhood.“True” pedophiles should be identified by their preference for biological children. [A]
By using legal classifications, researchers may well be confusing two distinct types of offenders, child molesters and rapists, and confounding attempts to understand pedophilia.