Jahnke, Sara, Imhoff Roland, & Hoyer Juergen; Stigmatization of People with Pedophilia: Two Comparative Surveys; Arch Sex Behav
Despite productive research on stigma and its impact on people's lives in the past 20 years, stigmatization of people with pedophilia has received little attention. We conducted two surveys estimating public stigma and determining predictors of social distance from this group.
Both studies revealed that nearly all reactions to people with pedophilia were more negative than those to the other groups, including social distance.
Results strongly indicate that people with pedophilia are a stigmatized group who risk being the target of fierce discrimination. We discuss this particular form of stigmatization with respect to social isolation of persons with pedophilia and indirect negative consequences for child abuse prevention.