AIBU to think that you cannot 'cure'/manage a paedophile?

[ilovebabytv]

In that that is their sexual preference (as abhorrent and fucking wrong as it is) is no more curable/manageable than being straight/gay?

And therefore leading on from this theory, that once caught they should be locked up either in jail/psychiatric hospital for life, (kept away from public in general) because they are always going to be a risk?

I've been surprised at how many clients we have. 4 within 200 yards of my house. This freaked me out at first but then I realised it must be v widespread and most haven't offended for years...

There's no way we could just lock up anyone who poses any kind of risk!

Circles of Support and Accountability have been doing pretty ground breaking work in this area.

This thread is do gooding at it's best.

Fucking hell.

Bollocks it's a sexual orientation.

I really think you are simplifying it a bit to be honest. Are you saying that everyone who commits a sexual offence against a child should be locked up for ever? You know some men's offences at the less serious end of the scale, whose risk is assessed as low and manageable in the community, get Community Orders. Should they all go to prison for life? Where do you draw the line, a 17 year old boy having sex with a 15 year old? A 22 year old touching the breast of a 14 year old over her clothes? A 30 year old with learning disabilities having a sexual relationship with a 15 year old because that's his 'peer group'?
Obviously there are men whose risk will always be too great to manage in the community, and provided they were sentenced appropriately they will remain in custody.

Paedophilia is separated from all other sex offences including having sex with a woman under the age of 16 but over the age of 12 (I think it's 12). So a 17 year old boy having sex with a 15 year old girl really isn't the same thing.

I don't think being sexually attracted to young children is a sexual orientation. Unlike all other types of sexuality, one party can never give consent.

I do not think you can lock people up for their thoughts or sexual preferences. There are a lot of people out their who are sexually attracted to children but will never, ever act on it - think about how popular schoolgirl porn is. You cannot control what turns you on sexually, and I don't have any problem with people who are attracted to children but deal with this appropriately (for example, by roleplay with another consenting adult).

Regarding people who have assaulted children or accessed child porn, it isn't purely their sexual preference that's the problem, it's the lack of normal ethical boundaries. I think this can be addressed via victim empathy work. In a previous job I worked with a number of paedophiles, and it was common that they had previously been abused themselves and held the belief that since they were ok the kids they were abusing would also be ok, or would even enjoy it. Very, very few humans are really ok about hurting others.

Sexual preference can be changed through psychological intervention, but it is a slow and difficult process, and not always successful. The person has to really want to engage.

The best management is to encourage paedophiles to stay clear of situations where the come into contact with children and are tempted to begin an offence cycle.

So I think YABU. Clearly not every convicted paedophile reoffends, so some must be managed effectively.

I am a foster carer, and when we were being assessed, our social worker with over 40 years experience told us that she honestly believed a pedophile would never ever be cured as such and would always be a risk

I have no sympathy for people who hurt children. I do think help should be given to people who have the urge but dont want to act on it, the people who are truly disgusted with these feelings.

Hysterical reactions, such as hang them, or lock them up for life, help no one

That's completely untrue isn't it! Locking a paedophile up for life will actually 'help' make sure that he / she never ever abuses another child as I don't think you get access to any children in prison!

So I'm all for it personally.

There are an awful lot of paedophiles, though, and keeping them locked up would be expensive and difficult.

And there's the tiny point that everyone, regardless of offenses they've committed, retains their human rights. Starting to pick who gets human rights and who doesn't is a slippery road in my opinion.

do you honestly think that ever man/woman who is attracted to children acts on it

what goes on in your own mind harms no one

what you do does

you can not lock people up for their thoughts (if they are open with them)

and yes i do feel sorry for people who do feel sexually attracted to children and hate themselves for it and never harm a child

i do not feel sorry for people who abuse others, but i do understand that years of abuse can make people very warped and they deserve help to move on from that and be free of wanting to hurt others

Well, you're not allowed to kill them & we can't afford to lock them up forever "because they might" so there's not much else you can do TBH.

I often look at a nice car on the forecourt & think how easy it'd be to take it for a test drive & nick it. Until they introduce "thought crime" fully they're not likely to jail me for thinking it though.

Bit of a "non thread" really, where did you think it was going to go OP?

Dahlen, where did you get the 80% reoffending rate from?

I looked at the NSPCC site and the figures (following a Freedom of Information request in 2012) are:
61,397 offenders on the Sex Offenders Register.
29,837 of these committed sex offenses against children. 941 of child sex offenders on the list re-offended.