If pedophilia has a genetic origin, how should society handle it?

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by chip2u2

Many of the answers here are quite disturbing and display an astonishing level of ignorance. Let's start with there is not a one size fits all. Secondly, pedophilia is not linked to sexual orientation.

But, the question is still important which is basically how do we deal with a pedophiles free in society. Currently, we have large data bases of registered sexual abusers. It is never 100% up to date and it doesn't contain the names of people that have been "caught." In short, it does little to protect society from sexual abusers. More importantly, it does not address treatment of the problem.

My answer is the same for this and every other mental health condition, disease or otherwise - expand (and, yes fund) and make available to everyone mental health care. There are literally millions of Americans that suffer from some mental or psychological disorder and desperately need help. Without help they pose a danger to themselves and to others. We see examples every day and we can't (well maybe you could) euthanize the problem away.

There are those of you who will say that pedophilia is not the same as depression or drug abuse. Yes and no, but the answer lies in treatment, not condemnation, confinement or euthanization. Ignoring the problem only exacerbates the harm that can be done.

What sort of treatment works on pedophiles? Real question. The protection of children comes before the rights of the people who have urges to hurt them, so until the crime is committed, we aren't likely to know someone needs treatment, and by then the damage is done. Are you thinking pedophiles will self-identify and seek help before the commit an act against a child if they know treatment is available?

One problem is that pedophiles often think that what they are feeling for a child is love. They won't see themselves as having a problem.

[Nothere1]

I would normally think the same, but I have wanted to kill before. Have you ever wanted to kill, not crazy kill everyone, but like a cheating spouse, lawyer, guy who stole from you. If your truthful you will admit to this, in this instant, we are all murders if we justify that thinking a crime is just as same as doing a crime. I'm not taking away the fact that these people are sick and need help, but innocent until proven guilty right. Plus this is another reason to have public cameras, so when this dose happen we can solve these things in time and not "well 48 hours is over, your kid is most like dead, lets go home people".

[sholomar]

Originally Posted by bewitchyou

it's not a sexual orientation or genetic, it is a mental disease where something is wrong with the wiring upstairs coupled with abuse during childhood....just like transvestite people, or people who screw animals, or people who end up attracted to the same sex, or people who have sex with dead bodies.

This is partly true, though there is a genetic component to it. It's normal for males to want to be attracted to post pubescent women (age 14ish and higher) and in fact many people married and had kids starting at age 13-14 throughout most of our recorded history and during our evolution of the species. If you look at all mammals and when they start to procreate, it's usually shortly after the onset of puberty.

How should we handle these urges? There's no need for men to be preying on young girls, so I just say handle it like we've been handling it.. keep the age of consent at 16 but relax the laws a bit when it comes to say a 19 year old and a 15 year old being together... use a bit of common sense to the law instead of being rigidly black and white on everything.

If 16 seems young to you, well I think the drinking and gambling age should be lowered to 18 and marijuana legalized so I'm one of them libertarian types. I believe people will do it anyways and prohibiting them from doing it only leads to more immaturity and more problems and needless clogging up of the legal system over victimless crimes. Save the prisons and jails for true rape cases and murders, not smoking a joint or a 17 year old having sex she clearly wants to have with a 21 year old.

[JerZ]

Originally Posted by Nothere1

I would normally think the same, but I have wanted to kill before. Have you ever wanted to kill, not crazy kill everyone, but like a cheating spouse, lawyer, guy who stole from you. If your truthful you will admit to this, in this instant, we are all murders if we justify that thinking a crime is just as same as doing a crime. I'm not taking away the fact that these people are sick and need help, but innocent until proven guilty right. Plus this is another reason to have public cameras, so when this dose happen we can solve these things in time and not "well 48 hours is over, your kid is most like dead, lets go home people".

I don't think I've ever literally wanted to kill someone...but with that said, don't you feel there would be a difference between having a fleeting murderous thought toward someone who has severely hurt you, and having a literal compulsion to commit murder, even down to convincing yourself many people want to be murdered and are hoping you'll murder them...they're really just asking for it...look at them sitting there with that "Oooh, please mister, won't you kill me" look on their faces?

Because that latter would be the analogy if we're relating murder thoughts to pedophilia thoughts.

In the second case the person doesn't even have one specific person in mind to murder, he is just lying around fantasizing about it or has begun to look around quietly trying to find that perfect person he can murder without getting into trouble for it. On the other hand, maybe he's struggling shakily against the compulsion to kill night after night, hoping and praying he won't give in.

So what do you think? Dangerous or no?

I am not advocating punishing anyone for thoughts...but let's not cover for a compulsion to dominate and dirty children by saying it's no worse and no more potentially dangerous than a fleeting very angry thought aimed at someone who has harmed you deeply. The entire mechanism is different. A person who has an instant of fury against someone who has harmed him or her is NOT the same as a person who lies around looking at pictures of murders and murder victims until he or she achieves a state of physical and emotional satiety...then does it the next night and the next and the next, maybe for years, maybe for decades. It is simply not the same thing.

[Nothere1]

Yes, your thought processes dose sound right for the ones that go through with it that you hear on date-line or in the paper. Although, there are many more out there that don't go through with it, they hold it together. I don't think anyone really covers their story, it doesn't sell. So all we are left with is the information of the sickest pedophiles instead of a more complete picture of the issue.

[mordant]

Originally Posted by stockwiz

This is partly true, though there is a genetic component to it. It's normal for males to want to be attracted to post pubescent women (age 14ish and higher) and in fact many people married and had kids starting at age 13-14 throughout most of our recorded history and during our evolution of the species. If you look at all mammals and when they start to procreate, it's usually shortly after the onset of puberty.

Sure but that was 14 year olds marrying 14 year olds, not 24 or 34 year olds marrying 14 year olds (for the most part).

As one gets older, a desire outside of some reasonably age-appropriate range reflects increasing self-absorption and probably subconscious desires for "do-overs" and quite possibly an increasing need for control and power over one's partner -- one major way that's achieved is to be with someone who, even if consenting, is less experienced / mature and assertive. There is a reason people disparage "robbing the cradle" and it's not all sour grapes.

Yes, one could go to certain places in their mind when encountering nubile young ladies but the basic distaste that should arise for being with someone younger than one's real or potential adult daughter -- or even close to her in age -- speaks to the basic untenability of it and how others would (rightly) see it as age-inappropriate and rather moldy, a desire to feel younger or to have an objectified trophy partner. And then there's the whole issue of what would you have in common, sustainably, with someone 15, 20 or more years your junior? After awhile you would be putting up with the angst and immaturity of a relative child, whatever sex there was would grow routine / old and would not make up for that, and it would cut both ways ... what 25 year old in their right mind would actually want, in the absence of money, status or temporary insanity, to share their life with someone who isn't interested in partying, your musical tastes, your friends, and is in fact beyond such interests? And who would want to deal with how their friends would view them and their age-inappropriate partner?

It is just whackjob INSANE and DOOMED in so many ways you can't count them. Yes in theory age shouldn't matter but in practice it very much does in terms of what is fair and best for all concerned, and kidding oneself otherwise is just foolish.

And of course ... the ability to give truly informed consent drops to effectively nil at some point and society has arbitrarily ball-parked that point at below age 18, at which point it becomes, for better or worse, pedophilia and a crime. While this technically means that a young man aged 18 and 1 day would be committing pedophilia with a consenting young lady aged 1 day shy of 18, and one would hope that the law would be lenient in that situation -- still, you have to draw an objective line somewhere and that's as good a place as any. I'd rather err on the side of caution. And yes a male in the above scenario would be far more likely to be charged than a female being the older of the two. But given male's extra propensity to sexual violence I would have to say that is also erring on the side of caution.

[Shimmy00]

adults who prefer underage are generally insecure and maladjusted people. I'm not sure if it's genetic or not. I would learn towards not.

For example: When a 22 year old is faced with the option of dating a 16 year old vs. a 22 year old who looks 16, predators will choose the 16 year old. Why? Because their maladjusted, and it makes them feel powerful when they get away with it, and they enjoy the power that they feel over someone much younger than them (hence their insecurity). They don't have as much power over someone close to their age.

It's creepy and wrong to prey on someone under a certain age, it takes advantage of someone's innocence- hence why it's illegal.

We all know that many women are done maturing physically by the time they're like 14 or 15. But the typical MIND of a 14 or 15 year old is not as mature and developed as a 22 year old. This is why it's wrong to prey on underage women.

[JerZ]

Originally Posted by Nothere1

Yes, your thought processes dose sound right for the ones that go through with it that you hear on date-line or in the paper. Although, there are many more out there that don't go through with it, they hold it together. I don't think anyone really covers their story, it doesn't sell. So all we are left with is the information of the sickest pedophiles instead of a more complete picture of the issue.

Well, yeah, or from what I was literally told by my molester.

I mean, one or the other, yeah.

I guess I could believe neither Dateline nor actual pedophiles but, you know...you?

Okay, sounds good, I'm in.

It is just whackjob INSANE and DOOMED in so many ways you can't count them.

Sorry, gotta concur with this one. ^ Albeit in my obviously unlearned opinion. Sadly, "whackjob insane" is not a psychiatric column under the DSM-V, but in this case, it should be...again, JMO.