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Originally Posted by Joshua Nightshade  I don't believe there is a cure for pedophilia. It is a sexual attraction the same as heterosexuality and homosexuality. I know that people involved in gay rights try vehemently to distance these things because those involved in anti-gay rights want to equate them as one in the same, but they are ultimately ingrained traits that can only be altered within certain margins.
Just as there's little success conditioning gay people to be straight and give up same-sex attraction so do most pedophiles who are caught overwhelmingly repeat the behavior.
And I think the slippery slope is in treating pedophilia as a disease but saying "No way, gay people can't change." I don't think either groups can change, personally. |
I think I know what you're saying, Joshua, but I'm not real sure - so I'm posting this not to argue with you, but to clarify something on a very powerful topic.
Homosexuality, as far as we can tell, is one form of human sexual preference. Debate is split somewhat on how much is nature and how much is nurture, but most likely it's some combination of the two. Most progressive psychologists will tell you that, regardless of its causes, the most damaging approach to homosexuality is to deny it, attempt to "fix" or "cure" it, or equate it with diseases. Further, it does not by definition involve predation or harm to others, and that's the main point I wanted to emphasize.
On the other hand,
pedophilia is a disease. It's most likely based on some kind of childhoose abuse, unlike homosexuality. Pedophiles are rightfully referred to as "predators".
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| pedophilia is truly a disease (and should never be considered normal), while none of the things which make homosexuality a normal variation of human sexuality apply to pedophilia |
I agree that pedophila is probably not curable. There have been some mixed results through castration or medication.
Psychotherapy has had unremarkable results, but that's not to say it cannot and will not work in all cases. The main complaint seems to be that most therapeutic treatments have been court ordered, and you can't force someone to cooperate fully with therapy - the therapy becomes part of the punishment.
Scientific American: Abnormal Attraction Quote:
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Nevertheless, like other complex psychological traits, pedophilia is thought to stem from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Many experts believe that disorders of sexual preference emerge from childhood experiences during critical periods in human development. In particular, several studies have confirmed that pedophiles are unusually likely to have been victims of violence and sex abuse as children. In one such study in 2001, researchers at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine and University College London reviewed the case notes of 225 male sex abusers and 522 other male patients being treated in a London clinic for sex offenders and sexual deviants. They found that abusers had themselves been victims of sexual violence considerably more often than the patients who had not committed sex abuse, suggesting a victim-to-perpetrator cycle in some men who commit sex crimes.
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