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Understanding and Addressing Adult Sexual Attraction to Children

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Understanding and Addressing Adult Sexual Attraction to Children Understanding and Addressing Adult Sexual Attraction to Children Paedophiles exist and we must develop ways of living with this fact while ensuring that children are kept safe. This ground-breaking book demystifies the field of adult sexual attraction to children, countering the emotionality sur- rounding the topic of paedophilia in the popular media by careful presentation of research data and interview material. Addressing how we can work together to reduce sexual offending in this population, Understanding and Addressing Adult Sexual Attraction to Children bridges the gulf in understanding between those who want to protect children and those who feel sexual attraction to children – and recognises that they are sometimes the same people. Sarah D. Goode provides an overview of the topic by defining the term ‘paedophile’ and discussing how many adults there may be in the general population who find themselves sexually attracted to children. She looks at how the Internet has acted as an enabler, with an explosion of child porno- graphy and ‘pro-paedophile’ websites. Drawing on data from a sample of fifty-six self-defined paedophiles living in the community, she explores themes including self-identity, the place of fantasy and the forms of support available to paedophiles. Her research highlights the scale of debate within the ‘online paedophile community’ about issues such as the morality of sexual contact with children and encouragement to maintain a law-abiding lifestyle. Throughout, she draws careful distinctions between sexual attraction to chil- dren and sexual contact with children. The book concludes with a valuable discussion on how adult sexual contact harms children and examples of a range of initiatives which work to protect children and prevent offending. Suitable for all professionals who work with children or sexual offenders, this book gives clear guidance on what one needs to know and do to ensure children are kept safe. It will also be of interest to students studying child protection, paedophilia and child sexual abuse within other social science disiplines. Sarah D. Goode, a qualified occupational therapist, holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Warwick and is Director of the Research and Policy Centre for the Study of Faith and Well-being in Communities and a Senior Lecturer in Social Care and in Community Development at the University of Winchester, UK. Understanding and Addressing Adult Sexual Attraction to Children A study of paedophiles in contemporary society Sarah D. Goode First published 2010 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2010 Sarah D. Goode All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Goode, Sarah. Understanding and addressing adult sexual attraction to children : a study of paedophiles in contemporary society / Sarah Goode. p. cm. 1. Pedophilia. 2. Child sexual abuse. I. Title. HQ71.G656 2009 362.2’7 – dc22 2009003517 ISBN 0-203-87374-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0-415-44625-2 (hbk) ISBN10: 0-415-44626-0 (pbk) ISBN10: 0-203-87374-2 (ebk) ISBN13: 978-0-415-44625-9 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-0-415-44626-6 (pbk) ISBN13: 978-0-203-87374-8 (ebk) Contents List of tables viii Preface ix Acknowledgements and dedication xi 1 Understanding paedophiles 1 Introduction 1 I David 5 II Definitions of paedophilia 9 III How many paedophiles are there? 14 2 Paedophiles online 21 Introduction 21 I Spiders in the Darknet 22 II Child pornography 25 III Online advocacy and online attack 30 3 Setting up the Minor-Attracted Adults Daily Lives Project 38 Introduction 38 I The origins of the MAA Daily Lives Research Project 40 II The background research climate 43 III Ethical and methodological challenges of the project 48 4 Running the Minor-Attracted Adults Daily Lives Project 57 Introduction 57 I How the research project was conducted 58 II The responses of the ‘paedophile community’ to the project 62 vi Contents 5 Findings from the Minor-Attracted Adults Daily Lives Research Project 68 Introduction 68 I Basic demographic details of sample 70 II Experiences related to sexuality 75 6 Constructing and negotiating identities 84 Introduction 84 I Respondents’ views on sex with adults 86 II Sources which shaped respondents’ views of themselves 89 III The significance of websites 94 7 Attraction and fantasies 97 Introduction 97 I ‘What is it about this age group that most attracts you?’ 98 II Romantic and sexual fantasies 103 III The relationship between fantasy and real life 107 8 Experiences of support 115 Introduction 115 I Minimal support 118 II Limited support 120 III Paedophile-based support 122 IV Non-paedophile-based support 125 V Wider support 129 VI The relationship between support and ‘contact’ 131 9 Debate and dissent within the online paedophile community 134 Introduction 134 I Aspects of the online paedophile community 135 II Attitudes to child pornography 140 III The impact on real life of using ‘visual imagery’ 153 10 What stops adults preventing the abuse of children? 156 Introduction 156 I Why don’t adults report abuse? The case study of Fred 157 II Why don’t abusers seek help? The case study of Ian 161 Contents vii 11 Addressing adult sexual attraction to children 167 Introduction 167 I Children, sexuality and sexual abuse 170 II New initiatives in addressing adult sexual attraction to children 182 III Keeping children safe 187 Appendices 195 References 208 Index 217 Tables 5.1 Countries involved 71 5.2 Age of respondents 72 5.3 Length of time respondents had been sexually attracted to children 74 5.4 Figures for reported earliest sexual experience 78 6.1 Views on idea of sex with adults 89 8.1 Categories of support 117 Preface I am a fairly ordinary middle-aged Englishwoman, a common-or-garden-variety heterosexual, and a mother. I am also an academic involved in health and well-being. When I began the project that has resulted in this book I was angry about the fact that children continue to be sexually abused and nothing seems able to prevent this. I wanted to understand why. I was confused by the images of paedophiles presented by the media and I wanted to understand more. I hated paedophiles as much as anyone. I thought that if I ever met a paedophile I would want to kill them (even though I’m generally a pretty tolerant, pacifist Christian sort of person). But at the same time I could see that the images of deviant, cunning monsters being portrayed by the news stories and charity appeals just could not be correct. It didn’t ring true. People aren’t like that. So I wrote a brief exploratory paper about it for a conference. And someone got in touch with me by email and began writing to me about his thoughts and experiences. To my great surprise, I found myself commu- nicating with a person from ‘the other side of the fence’, a man sexually attracted to young children. Gradually I began to correspond with other paedophiles. I arranged to meet a large group to interview them. This did not happen but instead I circulated a questionnaire and over fifty paedophiles answered it. I also met and talked to other paedophiles, only one of whom was in prison: the others were ordinary citizens getting on with their daily lives. At the same time I talked with many professionals and researchers and explored everything I could find about paedophilia, especially from a social science perspective. This book is the result. This book is not a portrayal of how evil paedophiles are, nor is it a por- trayal of how nice paedophiles are. You are invited to judge for yourself, from their own words (from published academic writing, informal online contribu- tions, and direct quotations from research) and come to your own opinion. This book is intended to provide you with information which is not widely accessible elsewhere. The aim of my work is to draw together a huge range of material from many different disciplines to form a picture of what adult sexual attraction to children means within the context of our culture and our understandings of sexuality. This is not an easy book to read, although I have tried to make it readable. The topic of adult sexual contact with children is a x Preface painful one, and when one understands it in the context of the wider sexual and social abuses which have been perpetrated against children and women throughout the centuries, it cannot but be profoundly distressing. Indeed, it ought to be distressing. It is only by realising how badly we have gone wrong that we can begin to put things right. The conclusions are stark but I hope that they will go some way towards helping us all to create new and better ways of living safely and lovingly in this world. If you want the message of this book in a nutshell, it is this: adult sexual contact with children should be prevented but punishing an individual for his sexual attraction rather than his actual behaviour is counterproductive; all of us adults need to behave in a much more mature and responsible way, so that all of our children can have happy childhoods, free from harm.
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