Pedophilia And Hebephilia

It would be a lie to tell that not once have our hearts sank while hearing about numerous cases of child sexual abuse. What all we ever talk and care about is for the victim but have we ever taken time to think about what causes the abuser to act such a way. We are completely ignorant of the mental state of the abuser and what causes them to act the way they do.

Off course we can justify saying they do not deserve to be cared for but what we exactly are doing is ignoring to make efforts towards reducing the n-number of abuses that are happening and we are continuing to accuse the abuser which might not at all take us anywhere in progression.

I’ve been wanting to write about this since very long but hesitating to do so because it was a sensitive topic and it might evoke certain unwanted reactions. But I think it’s time we spoke about it. We are not going to look at this in the same way we’ve been doing since so many years. NOT ANYMORE.

Please Take some time to read the article completely.

Pedophilia and Hebephilia

Basically,Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder.
According to DSM-5(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders) Pedophilic disorder is a paraphilic disorder when an adult has recurrent, intense sexual urges or fantasies about sexual activity with a pre-pubertal child (13 years or younger). Pedophiles may not necessarily act upon their desires. Consumption of child pornography is a more reliable indicator of pedophilia than molesting a child, although some non-pedophiles also view child pornography.

Hebephiles are those who are aroused to pubescent children (children in the early stages of puberty).

Not all child sexual abusers are pedophiles and not all pedophiles act upon their urge to abuse children.

Cause

Although the exact cause of pedophilia is not known. They are quite a few findings up to date. Biological studies include that: One study found that male pedophiles have a lower volume of white matter in the brain than a control group. Another study indicated that child molesters diagnosed with pedophilia have reduced activation of the hypothalamus as compared with non-pedophilic persons when viewing sexually arousing pictures of adults. One research in 2002 showed pedophiles had a greater probability of having suffered childhood head injuries resulting in unconsciousness, and several differences in MRI-detected brain structures. There are quite some more findings in this perspective.

Psychological findings show that pedophilia arises from the abuser themselves being, a victim of childhood abuse, lower self esteem, or comorbid psychiatric illnesses such as personality disorders and substance abuses are few risk factors.

Treatment

Although there is no proper cure for pedophilia, their urge can be controlled and they can be made to live normally insociety.

Pharmacological interventions are used to lower the sex drive in general but do not change sexual preference. Antiandrogens work by interfering with the activity of testosterone. Cyproterone acetate and medroxyprogesterone acetate) are the most commonly used.

Psychological treatment include aversion therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, suppressing of sexual arousal to children by covert sensitization and masturbatory reconditioning to increase sexual arousal to adults

Now that we’ve seen enough about the disorder, the cause and treatment.
I would like to ask have we ever considered killing the plant at its root?
Have we ever considered stopping it, preventing it, or even giving ears to an abusers perspective? Most of us consider pedophiles as monsters. But they do carry a great amount of guilt in them.

In a non-clinical survey, 46% of pedophiles reported that they had seriously considered suicide for reasons related to their sexual interest, 32% planned to carry it out, and 13% had already attempted it. Does that seem like they don’t carry guilt?

Pedophiles don't look scary. They are among us looking as normal as everyone Pedophiles are not just men. There are women too. Not only the girl child gets abused but boys do too equally.

A lot of pedophiles try to suppress their urges but act upon when they get a chance to do so or when they cannot control their urges anymore.

Help

Most importantly as said before not all pedophiles harm children.They need help same like a person suffering with depression or schizophrenia or any other disorder does.

In a confidential study of German men who sought mental health service because of their pedophilic feelings, 30 % reported that they never had sexual contact with a child. The German people raised awareness on this issue and stuck up banners and billboards all around requested for people who have sexual urges for children to seek help and that their confidentiality will be maintained. Surprisingly quite a few people turned up to the place and got mental health assistance and to cope with their urges.

The organisation B4UAct (Before You Act) is intended to support people with pedophilic feelings to raise awareness that such people exist and suffer due to societal prejudice. The organisation provides help for these people.

Another organisation called Virtuous Pedophiles is intended to reduce stigma towards law-abiding pedophile by raising consciousness about their existence.

In our country where there is a high rate of child sexual abuse, how much should we be open to progression by not hesitating to talk about such sensitive topics?

Don’t you think we need more organisations and more volunteers supporting this cause to create a better world for our children and for ourselves?Can we concentrate on raising kids with compassion and being open to talking about their sexual urges, their desires and problems? How many efforts should we make towards raising kids with good self-esteem, attending their emotional needs and helping them channelize their thoughts and actions?

Although it is hard to expect an overall change rapidly, a little knowledge on this matter of affair and viewing it from a different perspective can be a great effort towards the development of a better and safe society.

My effort has started with this article. What is yours?

I have attached the links for this sites B4UAct and VIRTOUS Pedophile to seek help at the end of the article. They maintain confidentiality at their best.

Do check out the documentary the Paedophile Next Door. In which a person suffering from it talks about his sufferings and how he overcomes it. The link at the end.

https://www.b4uact.org/about-us/contact/

https://www.virped.org/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4242828/mediaviewer/rm2099061760