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Having worked with police forces in Australia and the United Kingdom identifying those who sexually prey on children, people are always asking me how you can tell a paedophile from everyone else.
Well, I can tell you one thing – they don’t have horns and tails. They look and act like you and me. Except for one key difference: they’re sexually attracted to children.
What is a paedophile?
Paedophiles (as defined by the fifth Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) are individuals who are preferentially or solely sexually attracted to prepubescent children, generally 13 years or less.
There are distinct classifications for other attractions to children, depending on the developmental stage the adult is sexually attracted to. Those who find children on the cusp of puberty sexually attractive are known as “hebephiles”. “Ephebophiles” are individuals who are sexually attracted to children who have reached puberty.
Not all paedophiles are child sex offenders, and conversely not all child sex offenders are paedophiles. Some people who sexually abuse children are not preferentially attracted to children at all. The abuse is a matter of opportunity: the child is a sexual surrogate for an unavailable adult or the abuse represents a need to dominate and control another human being.
So, to de-muddy the water, I will restrict this discussion to those with an attraction to children: preferential child sex offenders.
Source: Psychology Of A Paedophile: Why Are Some People Attracted To Children?
I recently watched a documentary that Louis Theroux did on paedophiles – it looked at convicted paedophiles who had been released from prison having served their sentence but who had been diagnosed with a sexual disorder and admitted to a psychiatric facility for rehabilitation. It was explained that in the 10 years that the Coalinga State Hospital had been in operation that only 13 offenders had been “successfully rehabilitated” and had been discharged and released into the general population. It explained that these offenders took part in the PACE program which is what assisted in their rehabilitation.
My question is this – is it possible to effectively rehabilitate a paedophile? Is this notion along the same lines of Christians trying to “fix” homosexual people, or if someone were to attempt to change a straight person’s preference for opposite sex partners to same sex partners? Is a genuine attraction to children something that can be changed? If not, why are there institutions such as Coalinga State Hospital who offer rehabilitative programs to offenders who, as research shows, are not able to be changed?
Also, what does the research show in terms of successful rehabilitation when comparing individuals who prey on children for power and control as opposed to those individuals who believe they are in love with their victims?
I found this article, and the documentary I watched, interesting but I found I have been left with more questions. I would been keen to receive answers to my above questions, or to be directed to research that could answer these for me.
Thanks!