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Will "revolutionary" Diana Screen End Pedophile Menace?
Anxious to mend its reputation and plug the money drain, the Vatican just announced a new fix: Candidates for the priesthood will undergo psychological screening to determine their suitability for the job. Painting a pseudo-scientific veneer on the campaign, the Vatican said "expert" psychologists will screen select candidates on a case-by-case basis.
Gene Abel is a psychiatrist who invented the controversial Abel Screen, which measures sexual proclivities based on how long men look at visual images of different types of models. Abel is promoting a new "pass/fail" test called the Diana Screen as a "breakthrough in technology" that can accurately identify men who have molested children.
In the blogosphere I bumped into a group of sex offenders discussing how easy it is to beat the test.
The author finds a false positive rate of at least 50 percent. Even if it is just a screening test, psychologists should be cautious in administering a test with such a high false-positive rate and no published, peer-reviewed data on its reliability or validity.
More fundamentally, this type of testing raises philosophical issues about how far society should go in the name of protecting children, especially when most victimization is done not by teachers or amusement park workers but by family members.
Anxious to mend its reputation and plug the money drain, the Vatican just announced a new fix: Candidates for the priesthood will undergo psychological screening to determine their suitability for the job. Painting a pseudo-scientific veneer on the campaign, the Vatican said "expert" psychologists will screen select candidates on a case-by-case basis.
Gene Abel is a psychiatrist who invented the controversial Abel Screen, which measures sexual proclivities based on how long men look at visual images of different types of models. Abel is promoting a new "pass/fail" test called the Diana Screen as a "breakthrough in technology" that can accurately identify men who have molested children.
In the blogosphere I bumped into a group of sex offenders discussing how easy it is to beat the test.
The author finds a false positive rate of at least 50 percent. Even if it is just a screening test, psychologists should be cautious in administering a test with such a high false-positive rate and no published, peer-reviewed data on its reliability or validity.
More fundamentally, this type of testing raises philosophical issues about how far society should go in the name of protecting children, especially when most victimization is done not by teachers or amusement park workers but by family members.
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The Witch-Burning of Abgail Simon
On Nov. 26, [2014 ?] in Grand Rapids, MI, Abigail (a former tutor at a Catholic high school) was convicted at trial of three counts of
- "first-degree criminal sexual conduct," a felony with a maximum sentence of 25-years to life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 8-25 years,
- for allegedly having sex with a student who she claimed was not only the aggressor in their sexual intrigue but also forced himself on her 3 times; and
- also the felony of "accosting a minor for immoral purposes" for exchanging hundreds of emails and text-messages with her "victim," a 6'3", 220 lb. biological man of 15 and football star who initially confessed to the authorities and also testified under oath at a pretrial hearing that Abigail's version of what occurred was true but later recanted and claimed not only that he didn't force himself on her but also that she was the initiator of their liaison and controlled the action and relationship. [...]
On Jan. 14, 2015, the judge was "merciful," imposing the mandatory-minimum sentence of "only" 8-25 years in prison. [...]
He didn't have the discretion to impose a sane and "just" and condign and rational sentence. [...]
Even if he had such discretion, however, he probably would have sentenced her to 4-6 years in prison if not longer rather than "only" 6-12 months in jail or 1-2 years in prison, knowing the hysteria and outrage such "leniency" would incite not only in Grand Rapids and Michigan but nationwide [...].
On Nov. 26, [2014 ?] in Grand Rapids, MI, Abigail (a former tutor at a Catholic high school) was convicted at trial of three counts of
- "first-degree criminal sexual conduct," a felony with a maximum sentence of 25-years to life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 8-25 years,
- for allegedly having sex with a student who she claimed was not only the aggressor in their sexual intrigue but also forced himself on her 3 times; and
- also the felony of "accosting a minor for immoral purposes" for exchanging hundreds of emails and text-messages with her "victim," a 6'3", 220 lb. biological man of 15 and football star who initially confessed to the authorities and also testified under oath at a pretrial hearing that Abigail's version of what occurred was true but later recanted and claimed not only that he didn't force himself on her but also that she was the initiator of their liaison and controlled the action and relationship. [...]
On Jan. 14, 2015, the judge was "merciful," imposing the mandatory-minimum sentence of "only" 8-25 years in prison. [...]
He didn't have the discretion to impose a sane and "just" and condign and rational sentence. [...]
Even if he had such discretion, however, he probably would have sentenced her to 4-6 years in prison if not longer rather than "only" 6-12 months in jail or 1-2 years in prison, knowing the hysteria and outrage such "leniency" would incite not only in Grand Rapids and Michigan but nationwide [...].
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Woman as 'Rapists'
"The male can rape the female, the female cannot rape the male," so wrote Diana Trilling long ago. Her point is that rape entails not only the use of violence/force or threats of same to compel the submission of a victim but also the penile violation/penetration of the victim by the assailant.
For obvious anatomical reasons, woman can't rape anyone, male or female, in the pure and literal sense of the word. But we now live in a society in which adult women are vilified as "rapists" for allowing biological men under age 18 to penetrate them in factually consensual relationships, a grotesque and ludicrous perversion of language used to distort and invert reality for ideological, political, economic, moral, and personal reasons.
"The male can rape the female, the female cannot rape the male," so wrote Diana Trilling long ago. Her point is that rape entails not only the use of violence/force or threats of same to compel the submission of a victim but also the penile violation/penetration of the victim by the assailant.
For obvious anatomical reasons, woman can't rape anyone, male or female, in the pure and literal sense of the word. But we now live in a society in which adult women are vilified as "rapists" for allowing biological men under age 18 to penetrate them in factually consensual relationships, a grotesque and ludicrous perversion of language used to distort and invert reality for ideological, political, economic, moral, and personal reasons.
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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.
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Youths not always victims in man-boy sex, survey reveals;
The International Journal of Human Relations. Volume 14 (1) pp. 8-9 October, 1984 ;
14 (1, October 1984), 8 & 9
Part of a report of a forum in which Sandfort and Finkelhor discuss the former's research and its conclusions and views: Are children always traumatized by pedophiles? Sandfort takes a researcher's stand ('no'), Finkelhor a moral stand ('yes').
Part of a report of a forum in which Sandfort and Finkelhor discuss the former's research and its conclusions and views: Are children always traumatized by pedophiles? Sandfort takes a researcher's stand ('no'), Finkelhor a moral stand ('yes').
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Zero Tolerance For Six Year Old Predators,
Apr 27 2008
Critic column about a news item that told that a six year young child is branded as a "sex offender".
Critic column about a news item that told that a six year young child is branded as a "sex offender".
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[Review of] Seto, M. C., Pedophilia and sexual offending against children;
Open Access Journal of Forensic Psychology;
2009(1), R1-3
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‘Querying’ the Limits of Queering Boys Through the Contested Discourses on Sexuality;
Sexuality & Culture;
12(4), 257-274
Presentations of boy’s sexuality within man–boy sexual relationships have shifted considerably over the past three decades. We document this through analyzing three very different constituencies:
- ‘boylover’ (adult men sexually attracted to boys) activist movements,
- three research case studies, and
- male survivors of abuse.
We examine
- the specific ways boy’s sexuality has been constructed within each of these positions,
- how these have changed over this period, and
- what insights all this can shed on wider social and cultural (re)conceptions on age, gender, and sexuality.
Studying these diverse perspectives provides a series of contrasting assumptions and frameworks which will yield invaluable insights on wider transformations in the production of narratives on child and intergenerational sexualities.
We hope to illuminate this through drawing out the complex interplays involving power dynamics and fluctuations in the epistemological hierarchy delineating boy’s sexuality (in terms of more normative and transgressive forms this may take).
We conclude this critical engagement with a discussion of the likely impact any ‘queering’ of, or fractures in, age/generational boundaries might have for the future narrating of boy’s sexual stories within man–boy sexual relationships.
Presentations of boy’s sexuality within man–boy sexual relationships have shifted considerably over the past three decades. We document this through analyzing three very different constituencies:
- ‘boylover’ (adult men sexually attracted to boys) activist movements,
- three research case studies, and
- male survivors of abuse.
We examine
- the specific ways boy’s sexuality has been constructed within each of these positions,
- how these have changed over this period, and
- what insights all this can shed on wider social and cultural (re)conceptions on age, gender, and sexuality.
Studying these diverse perspectives provides a series of contrasting assumptions and frameworks which will yield invaluable insights on wider transformations in the production of narratives on child and intergenerational sexualities.
We hope to illuminate this through drawing out the complex interplays involving power dynamics and fluctuations in the epistemological hierarchy delineating boy’s sexuality (in terms of more normative and transgressive forms this may take).
We conclude this critical engagement with a discussion of the likely impact any ‘queering’ of, or fractures in, age/generational boundaries might have for the future narrating of boy’s sexual stories within man–boy sexual relationships.
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The ‘‘Participating Victim’’ in the Study of Erotic Experiences Between Children and Adults: An Historical Analysis;
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2009
During the 20th century, erotic experiences between minors and adults occupied a position of increasing interest, both public as well as scientific. In this area of research, one of the most notable evolutions in how these experiences are treated has been the progressive disappearance and/or the intense redefinition of what earlier researchers called ‘‘participating victims,’’ i.e.,minors apparently interested in accepting and/or sustaining these relationships.
The present work, through a comparative analysis of the literature, seeks to substantiate this transformation during the second third of the 20th century. It will also argue that this evolution can be fundamentally explained in terms of the intense emotional, moral, and ideological importance that is ascribed to these experiences in the rise of the current victimological paradigm.
Finally, this study endeavors to contribute to the understanding of childhood and the scientific study of child sexuality as well as of these experiences
with adults.
During the 20th century, erotic experiences between minors and adults occupied a position of increasing interest, both public as well as scientific. In this area of research, one of the most notable evolutions in how these experiences are treated has been the progressive disappearance and/or the intense redefinition of what earlier researchers called ‘‘participating victims,’’ i.e.,minors apparently interested in accepting and/or sustaining these relationships.
The present work, through a comparative analysis of the literature, seeks to substantiate this transformation during the second third of the 20th century. It will also argue that this evolution can be fundamentally explained in terms of the intense emotional, moral, and ideological importance that is ascribed to these experiences in the rise of the current victimological paradigm.
Finally, this study endeavors to contribute to the understanding of childhood and the scientific study of child sexuality as well as of these experiences
with adults.
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„Ich fühle mich nicht diskrimineert, ich werde diskrimineert" - Social Stigmatization of Paedophiles in Germany;
MSC Medical Antropology and Sociology,
Jun 29 2015
The focus in this thesis lies on the personal perception of self-identifying paedophiles concerning the stigmatization of their sexual preferences. In the literature there is a lack of emic perspectives regarding the stigma of paedophilia. Thus this study aims to contribute to the filling of this gap. The research is limited to a German context.
[...]
The findings of the research suggest that paedophiles do perceive a stigmatizing environment in Germany. The best solution to fight the growing stigmatization appears to be educating the German society about paedophilia.
The focus in this thesis lies on the personal perception of self-identifying paedophiles concerning the stigmatization of their sexual preferences. In the literature there is a lack of emic perspectives regarding the stigma of paedophilia. Thus this study aims to contribute to the filling of this gap. The research is limited to a German context.
[...]
The findings of the research suggest that paedophiles do perceive a stigmatizing environment in Germany. The best solution to fight the growing stigmatization appears to be educating the German society about paedophilia.