NL E3

Late again. Here is Newsletter number E3, the 3rd electronic one. The former issue E2 was in October 1997. After making and sending it, I had to change home and town because of severe problems in my social environment. Because I am physically handicapped, this called for much time consuming effort. I found a house and moved all my things, my papers and animals. It took some months to have everything in good order again.

Then, just when I had everything back in place, in April 1998, there was an accidental fire in my house. So everything had to be packed, cleaned, repaired, unpacked and put in back again. My computer was severely damaged by the heat of the fire and this called for several repairs, which in their turn gave more severe problems. After some months, I had new hardware and updated software, but much of the data was abusively deleted during the 'repairs'. So there was more work to re-install and data to re-import and more time needed to explore the updated software. By the time all this was completed it was July and the holidays had began, which intensified my caring tasks. It was only after the holidays that I could make a start with this Newsletter.

So... Late again, please excuse me again.

Nevertheless a story has to be told:

The co-secretary Ricky received, routinely, a catalog from overseas, from the Amsterdam bookstore Intermale. He had been getting this for the last ten years or more. The UK Customs and police took this as an opportunity to raid his house and to seize all his computer equipment. Thus, all correspondence between us, the Newsletters and all IPCE files are supposedly read now by the UK authorities. So are all BerryList files. The back-ups of the address files had a password, but hackers seem to be able to crack such barriers. Since this has happened, Ricky supposes his telephone is tapped and he and his visitors are watched, maybe his post mail is read. Since then, nothing more has happened though it is now more than six months since the raid, but the readers of the Newsletter have to know what has happened with the IPCE files.

In fact now comes news from the British national newspapers that it is routine for the British government snoopers to read all e-mail and other Internet communication of all citizens. It is reputed that the snoopers department has the capacity to read 5 million messages every minute. Apparently the same goes for USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (Source The People 13th Sept 1998). Maybe therefore all IPCE and other traffic was being read all along.

Three In memoriam and three youth

This Newsletter will begin with some "in memorial" stuff, which will be followed by some messages from youths. They should take over the flag.

Wither IPCE?

The next section of this Newsletter is about IPCE. Should IPCE continue or transform itself to not more than a meeting place for active persons? Much has changed in the twelve years of our existence. The social climate has changed drastically, so that an organization with the abbreviations "I" and "P" in the name are suspected per se. The coming of the Internet has changed the possibilities for communication dramatically. Thus, suggestions come to close down IPCE as it is now and to stop the Newsletter because there are now better ways for communication. We have to discuss this at the meeting and in the next Newsletter. The discussion has already started because of the lack of response to the invitation to our next meeting, the account and some questions I have had to put to several regular readers. The present state of this discussion can be read in this newsletter.

Articles

From several countries, articles reached me as the editor. Some people gave information and asked me to make an article about it. Other articles I selected from many sources. As usual, the Documentation Service List is the end of the Newsletter.

All this information is not only to read, but to work with it, each in his or her own country and organization or as an individual.

Next Newsletter shall give the minutes of the next Meeting… and the articles, documents and ideas you send to Your editor,

Frans

INTRODUCTIONAL CHAPTER

IN MEMORIAM: FOUR ELDERLY MEN&

LISTEN TO THREE YOUNG MEN

By Frans

IN MEMORIAM

Dr Edward Brongersma

Dr Edward Brongersma, doyen and respected elder of academic investigation of pedophilia, died on April 22 1998. The NAMBLA Bulletin (#19, p. 11) had a four page "Farewell", and without doubt, KOINOS Magazine had it own farewell (#18, p. 16). This therefore will be a short in memoriam and readers should look to these other publications for a fuller appraisal of his scholarship.

After his arrest for 'molesting a minor', a boy, 17 y., his life became dedicated to fighting for freedom for intergenerational loving relationships. In his second period as a Senator of the Dutch Parliament, he was instrumental in having the age of consent lowered to 16 years. Later, the Dutch Parliament created some room for the ages between 12 and 16. This slight liberalization of the law in The Netherlands was surely started because of his many publications and presentations. He wrote prolifically in many languages. The crown on his oeuvre was his two-volume book 'Loving Boys', written in longhand using a vast quantity of paper before the age of the wizardry of computers andro-electronic word-processing.

Of these two thick volumes, the critics said: this is not science, it is selective and subjective and oh! oh! he is personally involved in the matter, thus he cannot be objective. Well, dear critics, the books were the result of a selection process done by a person involved in his work, but this the normal state of affairs for all scientific work. Everyone who does research on say a particular star, virus, plant, insect, diagnosis, medicine, methodology, or mathematical theory goes through a selection process and becomes personally involved to establish the existence of his or her star, virus, theory or whatever it may be. That is not the problem here. The problem is that the existence of stars and viruses and even obtuse theories on almost anything, will usually be accepted by society, but the existence of loving and positive man-boy relationships is too frightening and threatening for society to accept.

That was the thread in his life. However, his last few years were equally dramatic. As an old man he had watch and see that, over such a few years, all liberation in The Netherlands for which he had fought so long and hard, fly away and a new phase of oppression begin. The pendulum swung back. The circle closed itself. The spirit of the time was no longer open to his spiritual influence.

The last year weighed especially heavily. There were a number of scurrilous publications against his works and these led to personal threats. He fled after stones crashed through his windows and he had had to hire guards for the house and the large archive it contained. But at the very end, it was sickness rather than despair that plagued him.

I have had much contact with Edward. Although we lived on opposite sides of our country, we wrote each other frequently and regularly. Edward was a prolific letter writer and he had many contacts all over the world with whom he corresponded in a number of languages. We met at IPCE and other, national and NVSH meetings. I visited him in his big old house, had tea in his study which contained so much beautiful antique furniture. Our contact was for me the start of my process of consciousness and self-acceptance. He always encouraged me in my work for emancipation in the several work groups and associations.

At frequent intervals, I feel encouraged by him even now. Do not be astonished, but I have met my father, mother and brother after their deaths. Sometimes it seems that serenity is in my room and that a kind of energy is streaming into me. An amiable, wise, kindly, generous old man is gone. Maybe an enlightened spirit is living in us yet.

Hans Nieters

On 1st December 1997, one of the most powerful activators of the German Groups died of a heart attack. Visitors to the IPCE Meetings may have met him. His friends were in deep grief for the lost of this quiet wise active man.

Viktor E. Frankl

lAt September 2, 1997, Viktor E. Frankl, author of the landmark "Man’s Search for Meaning" and one of the last great psychotherapists of this century, has died of heart failure. He was 92.

"Vienna, and the world, lost in Victor Frankl not only one of the most important scientists of this century but a monument to the spirit and the heart," said Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl.

Frankl survived the Holocaust, even though he was in four Nazi death camps including Auschwitz from 1942-45, but his parents and other members of his family died in the concentration camps.

During—and partly because of— his suffering in concentration camps, Frankl developed a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy known as existential analysis or logotherapy. At the core of his theory is the belief that humanity’s primary motivational force is the search for meaning, and the work of the logotherapist centers on helping the patient find personal meaning in life, however dismal the circumstances may be.

Frankl’s teachings have been described as the Third Vienna School of Psychotherapy, after that of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. In "Man’s Search for Meaning," which sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, Frankl said: "There is nothing in the world, I venture to say, that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions as the knowledge that there is a meaning in one’s life."

According to logotherapy, meaning can be discovered by three ways: "(1) by creating a work or doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering," he wrote.

(The above was free from New York Times and AP. The next was found somewhere on the web.)

There are six key propositions of existential therapy:

(1) We have the capacity for self-awareness.

(2) Because we are basically free beings, we must accept the responsibility that accompanies our freedom.

(3) We have a concern to preserve our uniqueness and identity we come to know ourselves in relation to knowing and interacting with others.

(4) The significance of our existence and the meaning of our life are never fixed once and for all; instead, we re-create ourselves through our projects.

(5) Anxiety is part of the human condition.

(6) Death is also a basic human condition, and awareness of it gives significance to living.

Applications to this Approach:

The approach is especially appropriate for those seeking personal growth. It can be useful for clients who are experiencing a developmental crisis (career or marital failure, retirement, transition from one stage of life to another). Clients experience anxiety rising out of existential conflicts, such as making key choices, accepting freedom and the responsibility that goes with it, and facing the anxiety of their eventual death. These existential realities provide a rich therapeutic context.

Techniques of Therapy:

Few techniques flow from this approach, because it stresses understanding first and technique second. The therapist can borrow techniques from other approaches and incorporate them into an existential framework. Diagnosis, testing, and external measurements are not deemed important. The approach can be very confronting.

Contributions of this approach:

The essential humanity of the individual is highlighted. The person-to-person therapeutic relationship lessens the chances of dehumanizing therapy. The approach has something to offer counselors, regardless of their theoretical orientation. It stresses self-determination, accepting the personal responsibility that accompanies freedom, and viewing oneself as the author of one’s life. Further, it provides a perspective for understanding the value of anxiety and guilt, the role of death, and the creative aspects of being alone and choosing for oneself.

(Back to the New York Times 9/4/97)

(…) This was a major change from the strictures of Freud and Adler, who attributed what they called neurosis to single causes: sexual repression and conflicts in the subconscious in Freud’s case, or unfilled desires for power and feelings of inferiority in Adler’s. To Frankl, behavior was driven more by a subconscious and a conscious need to find meaning and purpose. (…)

. On his first day, Frankl was separated from his family; later he and a friend marched in line, and he was directed to the right and his friend was directed to he left—to a crematory. He took an older prisoner into his confidence and told him about the hidden manuscript: "Look, this is a scientific book. I must keep it at all costs." He said the prisoner cursed him for his naivete. They were stripped and sent to showers, and then a work detail. Their own clothes were replaced with prison clothes, and the manuscript was never returned.

But late at night in his barracks, he began recreating it in on bits of paper stolen for him by a companion. These notes were later used for "Man’s Search for Meaning." In it, he wrote that once the prisoners were entrenched in camp routine, they would descend from a denial of their situation into a stage of apathy and the beginning of a kind of emotional death. As their illusions dropped away and their hopes were crushed, they would watch others die without experiencing any emotion. At first the lack of feeling served as a protective shield. But then, he said, many prisoners plunged with surprising suddenness into depressions so deep that the sufferers could not move, or wash, or leave the barracks to join a forced march; no entreaties, no blows, no threats would have any effect. There was a link, he found, between their loss of faith in the future and this dangerous giving up.

Frankl said he began to see the implications of his earlier writing as it became apparent that the only meaning in his prison life for him was to try to help his fellow prisoners restore their psychological health. "We had to learn ourselves, and furthermore we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us," he wrote. "We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life but instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life, daily and hourly. "Our answer must consist not in talk and medication, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual."

John Miller (Ricky writes)

Many of the delegates to recent IPCE meetings will remember a small elderly, lightly bearded, English gentleman who recounted his brushes with the officialdom of his country with much gusto and not a little glee. John Miller was clearly a person who enjoyed a good fight.

During the last year, his health deteriorated with growing age and the onset of the cancer which was finally to end in his death in October 1997. Those who knew him however will not be surprised to know that he was fighting to the end.

He was the linchpin of the now celebrated documentary 'The Devil among us' in which pedophiles spoke direct to camera for the first time (at least in the UK) without being in sinister shadow or silhouette. The documentary was so contentious that its publication was delayed and regrettably John never saw the finished result on screen as it was broadcast early this year and therefore some months after his death. Nevertheless, in it he had both the first and the last words. It was a fitting epitaph to his pugnacious life.

At the same time he was writing his autobiography and much had been committed to his word processor by the time of his death. It is our great loss that all this has passed to his family and it is feared that it is now lost forever.

LISTEN TO THREE YOUNG MEN

As a contrast to this In Memoriam to four old wise men, let's search on the web, the medium of the young, and listen to what they want to say in their youthful wisdom. I selected three and I add the translation of an article by me about the last one.

Spike: BE A ROLE MODEL

David: STOP PROTECTING ME!
David's home page

[Part of another page >]

TO MY FRIEND

My friend, My love

What difference is there between one rose and another rose,between two open petals of a flower?They say our love is different,

that I’m not mature enough to love,

as if love, and feelings,

were things of age.

What difference is there between one love and another love,

between one kiss and another kiss?

I am jealous of those lovers

that stroll their joy of love

through the parks, the theaters,

that scream to who ever will listen

that they are happy and filled with bliss.

Why can’t I show you off,

proudly displaying you to the world,

happy as I am

to have you near,

to admire your sincerity,

to count on your tenderness?

Some time we’ve had to lie,

say that uncle and nephew we are,

as if that degree of relationship

were any more pure, more clean,

than this immense love

that we have for each other.

Why do people differentiate

between one rose and another rose,

between one petal and another petal,

between one love and another love,

between one kiss and another kiss?

That’s why today, difficult times for us,

I want to tell you, simply,

in spite of everything and everyone,

that I love you,

that I am your friend,

that you are MY FRIEND, MY LOVE.

[Part of one of the letters David received >]

We Boylovers are stigmatized by this hypocritical and puritanical society that we have to live in. The media mixes the murderers, the rapists and those of us that love boys, all in the same box, as if we were all the same. They talk about "networks", when they should be simply talking about murderers (they don’t talk about networks when they arrest a group of adult murderers). There is a real witch-hunt against us, making us appear before the public’s opinion as real monsters.

Many Boylovers exist that are traumatized by social rejection, stigmatized, "pathologized", alienated…Many Boylovers commit suicide as the only means to escape their own situation, from detest of their own feelings, from fleeing their own tendencies. The same as when some years ago the homosexuals were the feeding ground for the greatest social, medical, psychiatric, political, police related, and religious persecutions, nowadays it is us the Boylovers that have to endure the propaganda campaigns that come down on minority groups (maybe not such a minority?).

We are few the Boylovers that can achieve the ultimate happiness through a relationship with a partner that fills and transforms us into normal and perfectly content human beings. As you say very well, there is no difference between two loves. Love is love, always, it doesn’t matter between who it is made. And I, David, am the luckiest being on this Earth, because I have you, because I can count on your love, your sweetness, with your intelligence (sometimes you overwhelm me), with your eagerness towards life, with your stare always smiling. We understand and comprehend each other and, as you also say very well, it is nobody’s business what we do or don’t do.

Through all of this your pages are a gift for any open mind that wants to listen. You are doing a lot of good, there are a lot of Boylovers that are re-discovering themselves by means of the normality in which you express your feelings. There are a lot of people, as you have told me, that write to you to thank you for your kind words, to tell you how important it’s been for them to be able to read your opinions or enjoy those precious poems. And that, David, is priceless.

SAM MANZIE’S PRICE WINNING ESSAY ABOUT FRIENDSHIP

Found at [Site disappeared]

See next article!

Sam Manzie wrote:

A true friend is hard to find, but once you have found one, the friendship can last forever. There are certain qualities that true friends have.

A true friend helps you out when you are in trouble, sticks by you through hard times, and is someone you can count on to tell you the truth.

A true friend wouldn't just say what they think you want to hear and wouldn't get mad at you if he/she disagrees with you.

A true friend will stick by you, even when the popular crowd doesn't. Anything else is being a crowd pleaser, someone who values their own popularity more than the friendship.

Also, a true friend is someone you can trust to talk to and share secrets without fearing that they will become a public knowledge.

Even if someone has all these qualities, it may not be a true friendship, because true friendships go both ways. All of the qualities that your friend gives to you should be given back, otherwise one is taking advantage of the other and it wouldn't be a true friendship.

True friendships are a very great and valuable thing to have, and if both friends work together, the friendship can last a long time.

IN MEMORIAM: EDWARD WERNER, 11 years

And the well-being of Sam Manzie, 15 years

Quis custodet custodes?

By Frans NL, translated from the Dutch NVSH Lwg JORis Newsletter

CHAPTER 2: RECENT DISCUSSION ABOUT IPCE

RECENT DISCUSSION ABOUT IPCE

1. IPCE ??? MEETING ??? From Frans NL, IPCE Secretary

MEETING ? Until now, nearly one month before the planned date of the meeting, I have received only a few replies. Seven persons have said they are coming to the meeting; this includes our host and I. The co-secretary is not able to come. What to do? If only seven persons will come to the meeting, the meeting will be a poor one and the costs, to share among seven persons, too high. The costs six people should make to come there are not in harmony with the benefit or advantage.

MY PROPOSAL IS TO CANCEL THE MEETING. It spares much cost that can better be spent elsewhere. We can discuss things by E-mail in a quite effective way. It is necessary to discuss about IPCE now. I will start.

IPCE ? In former years, the IPCE Meetings have had a benefit. People and organizations that communicated seldom with each other could have direct communication. The Newsletter could give information

Than came the Internet See at BoyLinks how many virtual organizations there are now! Communication is very easy by the Internet. By means of the BerryList, the BLCafe and or E-mail messages, each of us (I mean: the active people) can reach each other and that is what is happening now. Information is easily to find on the web at several places. In June, I have posted 75 invitations for the IPCE meeting. A large part of the invitations had attachments: an account and a question. I received no more than 10 replies until now, September. My conclusion is: IPCE is no longer needed. There are better ways to communicate now. The times, they are changing.

IPCE has three kind of involved people:

Members, which are organizations. IMHO, these organizations do not need an IPCE now anymore.
Candidate members for countries where is no organization.
Subscribers and visitors.

Some of the candidate members, subscribers or visitors are active people; they will find their way, I suppose. Others are 'lonely, isolated individuals' which feel some support by IPCE. I suppose we could advise these people to subscribe the NAMBLA Bulletin, the DPA magazine with the English supplement in

the future possible the OK Magazine with an English supplement and/or to Koinos Magazine. I should advise them to save for a pc or to learn the ability to visit the Web in a local library.

MY PROPOSAL is to Cancel IPCE.

The money can be spent to make the last Newsletters and to discuss this proposal and alternative proposal. My FIRST PROPOSAL, to cancel the Meeting, HAS TO BE DISCUSSED IMMEDIATELY! My second proposal can have all the time to discuss it.

Frans NL, IPCE Secretary.

2. Peter from USA was the first one who reacted:

October is an awkward month to hold a meeting. Although I agree with you that there is no need for an IPCE meeting, had it been held in the summer when I have my vacation, I would have enjoyed coming simply for the fellowship. NAMBLA is also holding its conference in October. This is just one more reason why members of NAMBLA would find it difficult to attend an IPCE meeting as well.

There may be a time in the future where an international organization will again be needed. Right now, I agree with you that Internet communications will fill the need for information exchanges.

3. The second reaction came from DDS, USA.

Frans discusses IPCE and concludes that the organization is not needed.

I disagree with you, Frans! The Internet does not take the place of face to face meetings. There would probably be more people attending, but the cost of traveling is prohibitive.

I would like to see IPCE continue to exist as an independent organization. NAMBLA is having too many difficulties with police informers infiltrating the Steering Committee and the leadership being outed by the media. Boy love organizations in Germany and elsewhere also appear to be having difficulties.

There are advantages to having organizations scattered around the world. Without some kind of face to face relationships I fear that leadership and volunteers will dwindle until there will not be enough persons to keep web pages going. The Web is impersonal, while local meetings tend to nurture the people who attend and their interests.

It was my understanding that OK Magazine was no longer being published. I could not subscribe to it because some of the pictures might get me into trouble with USA authorities. If the articles could be translated into English and the pictures deleted, then those of us in the USA could benefit from the organization.

I am of the opinion that having more boy love organizations would be better than having only a few. For one thing, where local meetings are possible, brainstorming and planning sessions could produce new ideas that would enlighten all of us. I miss being able to participate with others of a like mind. The breakup of NAMBLA chapters has, in my opinion, almost crippled the organization.

Having just 10 persons at a meeting might be a good thing. Ted has organized retreats for just a few people. Perhaps he could suggest ways to trim costs so a few people can meet at little expense.

The group in Denmark is perhaps smaller and may also have fewer financial resources than IPCE. Perhaps NAMBLA might underwrite some of the expenses for your meeting. Also, why not consult with the Martijn group. Combining the two organizations at this time might make sense.

Please accept the ideas above as merely brainstorming on my part. I cannot advise you, Frans, because I am too far away to do so. I do hope IPCE will continue. Just knowing it exists is a source of inspiration.

Thanks, Frans, for all of the organizing and your faithfulness in keeping IPCE alive.

4. Next reaction by Arby, NL

I'm not a affiliated with IPCE in any way, although I have attended a meeting a couple of years ago. To me IPCE was an important platform to discuss several subjects while there was no other way to discuss these subjects. But, apart from discussion, it was also a great way of meeting other people. I clearly remember going out to dinner with some people from Berlin and Frankfurt.

The Internet isn't the perfect way for meeting people: I like to go out and have dinner in a restaurant or do funny things in some city. The Internet is lacking this completely. A couple of years ago, I felt the Internet was THE way of living: meeting new people, discussing with many people online and so on. And because it's a patient medium one can think and rethink before writing something down. But, focussing too much on the Internet can hurt one's real life social contacts enormously. The IPCE meetings do fill in the social aspects, and I would recommend the IPCE to focus more on the Internet for the discussions and focus on more (!) meetings a year in several locations in the world to fill in the [need for] social contacts and to discuss viewpoints which are 'hot' at that moment.

I wouldn't stop the real life IPCE meetings before every aspects of those meetings have been filled in another way. 6 people wanting to join the meeting this year. That's not many. How come? People lacking interest? People afraid to go? People getting tired of all those discussions? I think the most important reason is the last one. But, if one will stress the social aspect of the meeting, how many people will take the trouble and go there? I don't know. As of this meeting... Although I do not plan to go there (why? I just don't feel to. If it were nearby, I would have gone but the surplus value above Internet discussion isn't sufficient to justify (to me) the costs involved.

If only six people think it's wise to have this meeting, I think you'd better ask those 6 people if they feel it's worth the effort. If not, then you'll just have to cancel the meeting. I don't think other people should decide in this.

5. IPCE’s Co-secretary reacts

I would be very sorry if IPCE were to fold.

It is a pity that we (or more properly myself) never managed to get an IPCE news page off the ground. Loosing my Pentium to Customs and Excise on March 13th didn't help. However, the real reason was simply that hardly anybody showed any willingness to send hard news from their own countries. This would have meant that the news service would have been dominated by UK news or at least international news gathered (and, therefore, slanted) only from the UK press or wire services.

I agree also with the many comments about the social nature of the IPCE meeting. When it was proposed that it be held in Greece this year the date was moved so that we could get an hotel cheaply at the end of the holiday season and that those participating could look around for similarly cheap 'end of season' charter air flights. It was also envisaged (at least by me!) that anybody could stay on a few days more and have an "ordinary" holiday out of the same hotel etc.

The hotel is not viable unless more than 15 attend. If less then they could all be accommodated at an apartment or with friends. Can this still not happen?

I regret that I will not be attending. Frans knows the reason and will communicate that to the meeting. It is certainly NOT that I consider that IPCE has been superceded by the Internet - far from it.

I agree with DDS and Arby that we need to have good English translations of the major information emanating from other language sources. I have spoken many times on this, offering to assist with the English etc. But unless others are willing to select and translate these articles we can do nothing.

6. From Danmark came the next reaction

I think that IPCE meetings should be held only every 4th year. The discussions can be carried out much more effectively on the web, especially the BL Cafe and the Danpedo forum, which unfortunately is down at the moment because of technical problems.

We still need to meet, now and then, to put faces on the names and for social reasons.

7. From Germany Paul reacted:

Most likely it is 1) the high cost, and 2) the time, why only so few people plan to attend. In October nobody has holidays.

In general, I think that we should not cancel IPCE-meetings at all. But we might consider to meet only every two years. Knowing each other from face to face is very important and can not be substituted by E-mail-communication. Both are necessary.

8. From Greece came the next reaction:

I wonder why it's harder for people to take a leave in October rather than in the summer (unless they're teachers). Here October is usually still a good month for vacationing. Maybe we should be more careful next time when deciding the time of the following conference, taking all pros and cons in mind...

I don't think the Internet or the Berry List are a substitute for IPCE or for IPCE meetings, because I also enjoy the face to face discussions and the socializing, and not once every four or two years, as it was suggested [in previous posts to the Berry List]. I think we should try to have the meetings at as low a cost as possible, then maybe more people will be able to attend them. Maybe we could have local meetings as well (e.g., one in the US and one in Europe with the possibility to be attended either by Europeans or by overseas people)).

9. Our man from Austria wrote:

I personally do feel, that any communication within the international group should be kept upright, and that one of the means for communication is definitely personal contact. Of course, the increase in technology has increased our possibilities to communicate, but there are several points, thatlimit the benefits of it:

Many people either dont have regular access to the internet, or feel technically not fit to handle it, or cannot use it for some other reason.
Too many people are scared by the omnipresent cyberpatrols on the net. It is one thing to discuss things like collecting stamps on the internet, where no real danger comes from, but it is another thing to discuss a topic, which among 99% of the population (also on the internet) is regarded evil and ... you know, and to know about the increase of technology also can be used for prosecution of people. Any word you use can be in a list for Word-scanners, which filter out potentially subversive mails. Internet is not a really save place.
Many Web-pages I have visited from time to time have been closed down, especially in Germany. Contrary as you stated in your e-mail I did not find it so much easy to find Information on the Web. But maybe I didn't search the right places. And last, but not least:
While communication on Internet is surely one of the great developments within the last years, it can never fully replace interpersonal contacts such as speech.

Of course I understand, that it is difficult and expensive, to organize an international meeting, if very few people come, and maybe, we really could spare some meetings, by, say arranging international meetings every other year only. But at least once in 2 years we should have meetings, because this IMHO would really strengthen our group.

If I would not have been in [far country] now, I definitely would have gone to the international meeting, and the next year, I will try to go there, if it is anypossible to me.

SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF THE INTERNET

By Sanctuary

Successes:

The Internet has been a tremendous blessing to me. Until I discovered it, I felt that I was alone and that the feelings I had were evil because that is all I had been told. Still, I could not deny the feelings I had and knew that I was not evil.

The friendships I have formed online are very important to me and I gather strength from them. I believe that I can be a help to those who need a friend also.

Security remains an important issue but there are tools available that can protect us if used properly. Privacy is still important to some and so these tolls will continue to be available. Our security measures will at least provide us the liberty to keep demonstrating our sincere love without the fear of our enemies being able to silence us.

Failures:

The same anonymity that allows us to express our opinions and experiences freely is what also allows people to deceive us into believing they are friends. This would be true in real life also so I don't blame the Internet. Because we can't look into their eyes to determine their sincerity, we must rely on instinct and logic. I have been fortunate in that the one person who tried to deceive me ended up becoming my friend because he came to realize that I genuinely love my girlfriends and would never willingly harm them.

PROPOSALS FOR NEW NAMES: "SPICE" and "JOY"

From JNZ I received a series of letters last year, containing proposals for new names. The letters were mostly handwritten in very tiny fonts and using every tiny space on the paper. Thus, I made a selection by cutting and pasting to make a summary of the proposals. Here it is.

Frans, secretary & editor.

Proposal 1: "SPICE"

The latest IPCE (International Pedophile and Child Emancipation) Newsletter, number E2, October 1997, under the heading "The Name" states: "Most of the members are not now content with the name 'IPCE'. The 'P' in it is too dangerous for members in several countries The 'I' suggests 'an International Network', a big organization. In fact, IPCE is only a meeting, a Newsletter report and an exchange of information and opinion. However, no good alternative was acceptable for the majority of the delegates". Active discussion on the Berrylist and elsewhere was invited "about this continuing problem": hence this paper.

Of course I disagree, and hold that IPCE is of the utmost importance. Globally, I also disagree with the IPCE approach. The word "International" should be retained. We are into Activism, and we are not into the "Sex--Ring" mentality. Also, purely for identity reasons we still need to make use of the 'P' word, but it should be relegated very much to the background, and ameliorated somewhat by abbreviating this word to "Ped". I advocate also that this word can be softened by placing it in suitable context where it would be the Anagram that would get used - one that would be inoffensive, and which would ring right to our ears. The Word (Anagram) I strongly nominate is.

SPICE --- meaning:

Sanctuary for Ped International and Child Emancipation.

All Organizations, Homes, Halls etc. where Peds gather for support should henceforth be named or renamed 'Spice Sanctuaries'.

IPCE had been launched initially with a four letter name, the order of the four letters being close to the order of four of the letters contained in the word 'Spice". It was this close likeness that I noticed while watching "The Spice Girls" on TV. I then checked in "The Concise Oxford Dictionary (Oxford University Press 1964, Reprinted - 1974, Fifth Edition), and discovered that the word "Gay" could mean "showy", and that the word "Spicy" could also mean "showy" (pages 507 and 1234)

The words "Pedophilia" and "Pedophile" are dry, forced, lifeless and emotive, and should take little part in the day-to-day language and literature of Activism. At present these words (the language of The Sex Abuse Industry) dominate IPCE literature.

We already have "The Spice Girls" - what we need today is "the Spice Boys" to complete the picture. There are Gay Men, but there are also Spicy Boys and Girls coupled with Spices (Males - also Females) out there - I have observed. The World affirms that Girls are made of Sugar & Spice & all that's nice, Peds have always asserted that Boys also are made of Spice & all that's nice. If one loves Spice then one’s whole existence is flavored by Spice.

The Key word is "SPICE".

I would appreciate any help (or feedback) in my efforts to have this change of direction accepted and I hope that organizational leaders may initiate this tactic.

Yours faithfully,

JNZ

Proposal 2: "JOY"

Several month later, a second proposal arrived, put in a long handwritten letter. Thus, scanning it and cutting and pasting was not possible, so I made a summary of it. Here it is, Fr.

The new name superseding IPCE should be "JOY":

Juveniles Out! Yet

Remember: "A thing of beauty is a joy forever", "Joy to the world" and "Hymn to Joy". It is an idea of Frank Sinatra to use a fitting three-letter noun, being a fitting adjective. The homosexuals have their name "Gay" as such a word. Let us use the word "Joy" for pedophiles as well as pedosexuals (avoid splits). "Juveniles" mean young people and children, boys and girls included. "Joy" is a positive for pedophiles, just like "Gay" is a positive for homosexuals. By "Yet" we say its only a matter of time juveniles can Out themselves.

So we can say: "He is a joy", "she is a joy" and "These are the people that are a joy forever." It refers to the basic principal that all human beings are inherently good and have the right to social justice. Sexuality is a natural human drive that asks for the attention it deserves. God or Nature did not made a mistake by implanting age as a human’s sexual orientation into the Human Family. Such an orientation can be "a joy forever".

Yours sincerely,

JNZ.

Proposal from NVSH lwg JORis about IPCE

Dear Meeting & (Candidate) Members

In this era full of dangers and risks, we feel it as a risk if IPCE should continue its name. Especially the words "International" and "Pedophile" can abusively be wrongly interpreted. Surely any honest research should conclude that nothing illegal is going on, but even any research can give much problems like negative publicity and so on. Think about the raid of the equipment and its content of the co-secretary. Think about the showing the Newsletter on the New Zealand TV. We think also about the undercover operations that overcame NAMBLA, the BList, the BLCafe and Boy Chat. The members meeting of our workgroup decided to ask you two urgent questions:

We ask you urgently and emphatically to change the name into a name not referring to pedophilia or pedophile; also the objectives of the organization should bear no mention of these terms.
Speaking about ‘organization’, we propose to transform the meeting, the newsletter and the secretariat into another kind of working together. Let it be an electronic and postal consultation network for individual persons not representing any organizations. Let it work without any formal organizational structure and without any passing of resolutions. Let new participants only be admitted by the present members through vote by ballot.

Question 1 should in our opinion be answered positively during the next meeting.

Question 2 should in our opinion be answered positively at least before the end of the year 2000.

CHAPTER 3: FROM THE COUNTRIES

From the USA, press cutting, Sept 11th 1998

"FONDLING IS INAPPROPRIATE IN THE UNITED STATES’

Judge rules fondling children isn't sexual abuse, cites cultural differences

A judge's has ruled that a man's fondling of his two children was not sexual abuse because such behavior is culturally acceptable in his native Sicily.

Chicago Juvenile Court Judge Fe Fernandez ruled in February that the father's alleged actions -- tweaking his 10-year-old daughter's breasts and buttocks and his 8-year-old son's genitals -- were clearly inappropriate and, along with reports of physical violence, contributed to an injurious environment.

She decided, however, that the fondling was not for "physical gratification" and did not rise to the level of sexual abuse because of the father's Sicilian background. Fernandez declined to be interviewed, telling the *Chicago Tribune* in a story Friday, "I cannot comment on a pending case." The judge ordered the children removed from the home but allowed the father unsupervised overnight visits. An appeals court blocked the judge's ruling pending legal arguments. No date has been set.

In her ruling, the judge said, "This might be something that the father might be brought up thinking that this is cute -- you pat somebody on the butt or you grab them in the breast area." But she said the father should know that fondling is inappropriate in the United States.

No criminal charges were filed. The father's attorney, John Gonnella, said he had grown up in an Italian family. "In terms of expression," he said, "pinching your daughter's buttocks or saying she has a cute butt is a term of affection."

A CALL TO SAFEGUARD OUR CHILDREN AND OUR LIBERTIES

Aufruf zum Schutz unserer Kinder und unserer Freiheiten

(This is the statement of an informal group of Boston-area educators, health workers, criminal justice workers and other community activists. This statement is circulated to individuals and organizations to initiate discussion, and for additional signatures. It is hoped that others will endorse this call, or will formulate their own statement, tailored to their own communities.)

COURT DECISION IN NEW ZEALAND ABOUT THE WORD ‘PEDOPHILIA’

Gerald, new Zealand, had complaint against a broadcasting station, TVNZ, because of the use of the word ‘pedophilia’ as a synonym for ‘criminal act’. In first instance, an Authorithy for broadcasting complaints had decided that the use of the word was correct. Gerald appealed against that decision by the court. Here are the essential parts of the judgement. The whole document can be asked to the secretary under doc. Nr. 97-099.

The appellant complained to Television New Zealand Limited, the broadcaster of a program which appeared on 27 November 1994 and which examined a therapy unit for convicted child sex offenders (and others) in Rolleston Prison. In the course of the programme the word "paedophile" was used on a number of occasions by the presenter in describing and referring to the men convicted of crimes and referred to in the program. The appellant’s argument is that broadcasting standards require accuracy and balance and that these had been breached by the use of the word "paedophile" as a synonym for criminals and child molesters. It was his claim that, by misuse of the word "paedophile",people who were not criminal had been treated as inferior and discrimination against them had been encouraged. Television New Zealand Limited, declined to uphold the complaint in a written decision dated 13 February 1995. The appellant now appeals that decision of the Authority to the Court.

The essential focus of the complaint and the submissions on appeal was the contention that the programme used the word "paedophilia" as a synonym for the criminal conduct or a child sex offender or for riminal offending when it was argued paedophilia had and included a neutral and non-criminal meaning of sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children. Reference was made to dictionaries and other literature in support of the contention. It was plain, however, from a reading of the literature that was produced, that in ordinary usage, at least in recent times, paedophilia has come to connote, in particular, criminal activity including what is sometimes referred to in the dictionaries as "paederasty". For example, in a report by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority in the Commonwealth of Australia in November 1995 described, under the tile "Organised Criminal Paedophile Activity", the conclusion was that the word paedophile had no agreed meaning but it was noted (para 2.7) that "most popular discussion in the media and elsewhere uses ‘paedophile’ without any clear definition but seemingly to refer to acts against children of up to at least 16 years of age" and in 2.11 that "the categories of child molester and paedophile overlap, but are not identical."

.In my opinion the word now does have a wider connotation. What may once have been limited to a psychiatric or other expert meaning has now become a broader meaning which, in common usage, includes and refers to those who commit criminal offences between men and boys and other young people.

On either basis, therefore, the broadened meaning of the word "paedophile" or the limited context of its use in the program could not be said that there was any breach of the standards (…).

Any discrimination was required to depend upon the meaning and application of the words "sexual orientation" in the Code standard. The Authority applied the definition contained in s 21(1) of the Human Rights Act 1993, which is as follows:

"(m) Sexual orientation, which means a heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual orientation."

That is an exclusive definition an does not included paedophilia. It was held, therefore, that this was not a subject upon which there could be a breach of that code standards. (…)

To the extent that the program referred to other sexual activity between adults and young persons or children it was also criminal in this country and equally outside the ambit of the provisions that I have mentioned.

The decision of the Authority was founded on a correct view of the law. There was no error of law involved, nor was there any irrelevant consideration taken into account or relevant consideration ignored. In the end the decision was plainly right and the appeal and is dismissed.

Gerald comments:

This case has been quite a disappointment for us, as we had 14 dictionaries definitions, a parliamentary commission and the UK house of Lords definitions to back us up. The judge did not take into consideration the time at which we made our complaint, which was at the very beginning of the misuse of the word. By the time our case came up in court, the misuse had already established itself.

FROM THE NETHERLANDS

IF THE LAW SAYS 'A (AN)', IT WILL BE 'ONE'

THE HIGH COURT OF THE NETHERLANDS DECIDES

About the possession of photographs

By Frans NL

[Unfortunately my usual translator is sick and I have had to translate this most complicated piece myself with the help of Ricky. If a more accurate translation comes to hand the article will be republished if necessary – Frans]

On April 21, 1998, The Dutch Courts made a remarkable decision that will influence the life of people who possess photographs of minors with a sexual connotation or atmosphere.

In order to understand the decision one must first understand the system of courts in The Netherlands. The first to judge is the' Court'. If the accused disagrees with the conviction, he or she can appeal at the 'Higher Court', which will review the case and give its judgment. If the accused disagrees with the application of the law, he or she can go to the next court of appeal, named cassation (annulment) at the High Court. This court will only consider the judicial procedure that was followed and the application of the law in the original trial, it may not make any judgment about the facts in the case.

So please, see and understand the names and the differences: the first appeal is about the judgment of a Court and is done at the HighER Court. The cassation is only about the procedure and is done by the HIGH Court, which is in fact the HighEST Court in The Netherlands. Decisions of the High Court cannot be appealed further.

The decision of the High Court in this case is a 32-page document full of juridical language, available for any who can read it by asking me for doc 98-039. In this article, I try to explain the decision as far as I understand all this jumble of juridical wording.

Well, a man was convicted for sexual acts with minors and the possession of 'kiddy porn', images of the children concerned in the case. He appealed at the Higher Court, which upheld the conviction. He therefore applied for cassation at the High Court. To do this, his lawyers have to put forward legal arguments about the way in which the law was applied in the case

One of the arguments was that the Higher Court had declared that the photos and videos added to the allegation, should not be seen as a part of the allegation, but as an explanatory attachment. Perhaps we can express this as 'corroborative evidence'. Well, argued the accused, one cannot delete part of an allegation; one should then delete the whole allegation.

No, said the High Court, one can surely be convicted on the basis of an allegation with attached explaining images. This decision influences the subsequent decisions.

Another argument was that, if the photographs and videos are not a part of the allegation, a court cannot decide if they are images of 'a sexual conduct in which a minor is involved' nor if they are illegal. This is because of an explanation of the Minister of Justice that not every image of such a sexual conduct is a crime per se.

No, said the High Court, this decision can be made on the basis of the attached images that have to be seen as a part of the allegation.

The greatest influence comes from the decision about a third argument. This is about the difference between having pictures "in stock" (in voorraad) or "in possession" (in bezit). Minister Sorgdrager explained to both Chambers of the Dutch Parliament that there is a difference. The law says "in stock", not "in possession". To have pictures 'in stock', refers to a certain plurality as well as what she called "an external connotation". What she wanted to say was that nobody in The Netherlands should be convicted merely for the possession of one image or single images? Given this explanation, Parliament accepted a proposed change in the law.

Well, said the accused, I had only one of each 'in possession', there was no plurality and no external connotation. Thus, the court has convicted me against the will of the Dutch legislation.

"No No!" said the High Court to this argument. What a court has to do, is to compare the allegations with the law. The law speaks of "an image" (een afbeelding). "Een" in Dutch is "a(n)", but is also "one". The High Court explained the "een" as "one". Thus, no plurality at all is needed for a conviction. The High Court rejected the nuances brought by minister Sorgdrager to both Chambers of Parliament and went back to the original text of the law and the original "Memo of Explanation" of the former minister of Justice Hirsh Ballin and the Parliament that accepted his proposals.

The same holds for the question of "in stock" versus "in possession". Here the High Court also set aside the nuances brought forward by minister Sorgdrager and Parliament and went back to the original Memo of Explanation of Hirsh Ballin. He had said that such an image is the consequence of a crime and thus having such an image is a crime also. The High Court decided that the nuances of minister Sorgdrager and Parliament did not accord with the ratio (the aim and the arguments) of the law as formulated and explained by the former minister of Justice. The High Court decided that 'to have in possession' is enough for the accusation 'to have in stock'. To 'have in stock' is illegal according the text of the law and the law does not speak about any 'plurality' or 'external connotation', no, the law says "one".

Thus, since April 21, 1998, the possession of one image of a sexual nature in which a minor is involved, is against the law. As soon as the College of Prosecutors became aware of this decision, they declared that from now on this would be to the forefront of their prosecutions. Indeed, since then the media have frequently mentioned the arrest of a person because of the possession of 'kiddyporn'. An additional fact is that juditial practice has also tended to widen the definition of "sexual conduct" from explicit sexual acts (in which two persons are involved) to sexual explicit pictures of one person and also to pictures in which the minor 'stands in a sexual pose', clothed or not.

Well, the wind from the Anglo-Saxon countries has blown over The Netherlands and has destroyed the famous Dutch Tolerance. And the High(est!) Court has blown away the nuances of the Dutch Minister and Parliament. No Minister or Member of Parliament can cancel a decision of the High Court. The only thing they can do is to make a new law in which the desired nuance is laid out explicitly in the words of the law. Parliament will have an opportunity for this because several MPs have asked the Minister questions about the consequences of this High Court decision. But he asked this just the same day as the Zandvoort Child pornography case broke in the media. After the recent mass of media attention about this case and the resulting world wide outrage, no Member of Parliament will plead for a return of the law as it was intended. Words like these are already published in the media. The media have already reached this conclusion. In the meantime, suddenly there was enough money to subside the ‘Kinderporno Meldpunt’ and to pay for five new cybercops.

The cold wind of Puritanism now blows across the fair land of The Netherlands as strongly as in any other country.

The pendulum swung back.

BERICHT ÜBER EIN UNGEWÖHNLICHES EXPERIMENT

Dr Frits Bernard, Klinischer Psycholog

The Other Side of the Coin

A Study Conference

Today it is hard to imagine, but less than twenty years ago sexuality between youth and adults was being written and spoken about almost exclusively in positive terms. When those speaking out of their own experience began to go public with stories about the sexual violence that they had undergone in their youth, they initially had a great deal of difficulty making their voices heard. Only gradually did the realization penetrate just how radically such experiences could define someone's life.

Presently narratives and theories about sexual abuse totally dominate the scene when it comes to sexuality in which children and youth are involved; even if children of different ages are involved among themselves, it would appear that the subject can only be handled in terms of "perpetrators" and "victims". And one must not forget the social workers who construe themselves as the only ones who have the expertise to allow those belonging to those two categories to function again in society. The pendulum has swung entirely to the other extreme, so that those with more positive experiences, and research results that reflect them, can find little or no hearing.

In order to throw light onto this other side of the coin again, after so long a time, the church-based Kerkelijk Sociale Arbeid (Church Social Work) foundation in Rotterdam is organizing a study conference to which the American psychologists Bruce Rind and Robert Bauserman have been invited as key speakers. (Dr. Rind has confirmed his presence.) Bauserman and Rind have distinguished themselves in professional circles in recent years by their publication of meta-analyses, research into sexuological research. Their most startling conclusion: from nearly all available research it appears that among males who have had sexual experiences with adults during their youth, a majority look back upon these experiences as positive or neutral, and that they experienced no demonstrable, lasting damage. Among women with such experiences, this is also true for a sizeable minority. In the two issues preceding this, Koinos has reported on their work.

In a day when almost every detective, prosecutor, judge, politician, therapist or clergyman is convinced that every sexual experience on the part of a minor, by definition, results in serious, lasting damage, it is worth the trouble to test this chic opinion. In the first place, it can be tested against Rind and Bauserman's meta-analyses and those of their predecessor in the 1980s, Larry Constantine, but it can also be tested against the insights of Dutch scientists and social workers who may not have been completely comfortable with the prevailing opinions, as their own experience and insights appear to conflict with them.

There is apparently no one any more who openly argues that sexual experiences between young people and adults are never damaging and always beneficial. It is now time to nuance the equally categorical argument that the opposite is true, to again expressly throw light on the more positive side.

The study day will be held on Friday, December 18, 1998, at the Pauluskerk, in central Rotterdam. Among the respondents will be Dr. Gert Hekma, Dr. Lex van Naerssen, Dr. Wijnand Sengers, The Rev. Mrs. W. Wiersma, and, speaking from his own experience, Ruud Krens. The chairperson will be The Rev. Hans Visser. The cost for participants is DFl. 75,00, inclusive of portfolio and lunch.

More information and registration:

KSA
Walenburgerweg 55
3039 AD ROTTERDAM
[The Netherlands]
telephone: +31 10 4666722
FAX: +31 10 4666714.

[About the work of Bauserman, Rind & others, see the last article in this newsletter and the Documentation Service List]

NO CURE BUT CONTROL

By Dr Frans Gieles

[Well, let’s see what happens if the courts give more pressure with the help of Her Majesty’s Prison Service in the UK]

FROM THE U.K.

THE TREATMENT OF IMPRISONED SEX OFFENDERS,

Program, development, from HM Prison Service

(SOTP Report, February 1996) [Sexual Offenders Treatment Project?]

[Psychologists have done the research, mentioned above.. Well, from the same UK we received this press cutting, which fits very well at the article here above. Editor F]

Psychology a fake science that abuses public, says expert

London, 12th Sept

FROM IRELAND

Sources for this report are articles and editorials in the Irish Times of 18th and 19th December 1997

The Irish government has approved draconian new measures to combat the "menace" of pedophilia. Under the provisions of the Child Trafficking & Pornography Bill 1997, expected to become law next month, a wide range of swinging penalties are imposed for new offences which involve intergenerational sexuality.

The Bill defines a "child" as anyone under the age of 17 years. Life imprisonment is specified for "sexual exploitation" of a "child". Under the loose definitions of "exploitation" cited by the Bill this could include, for example, a committed relationship between a mature homosexual man and a 16-year-old gay boy.

A term of 10 years imprisonment is provided for anyone who produces, distributes prints or sells visual material featuring children engaged in sexual activity or "the depiction of children for a sexual purpose". The catch-all phrasing of this last definition opens the door to mass seizures of works by leading art photographers on the specious ground that they are intended to "sexually arouse" pedophiles. Even related material that is purely AUDILE is also liable to attract a 10-year term! Computer technology also does not escape the attention of the boyos in the Irish legislature. A 10 year term can be imposed on anyone using computer graphic software to produce a pornographic image of a "child".

But most ominous of all is the provision in this Bill, which outlaws visual or audio material that "advocates, encourages or counsels" unlawful sexual activity with "children". This "offence" likewise carries a term of 10 years imprisonment. Under this measure even academic and scholarly works which present rational arguments in favor of intergenerational relationships would be liable to prosecution: the result would be a blanket ban on any positive debate on the subject. And presumably "Lolita" or any other work of fiction, which dealt with an intergenerational relationship, could be accused of "encouraging" unlawful sexual activity and be seized. And this in a country which prides itself on its civilized respect for literature.

The Child Trafficking & Pornography Bill 1997 is debated for a final vote sometime in February.

AG-Pädo, Fachgruppe Pädophilie der AHS

Stellungnahme zur geplanten Sexualstrafrechtsreform

Die AG-Pädo protestiert gegen das vom Bundestag beschlossene "6. Strafrechtsreformgesetz (Strafrechtsharmonisierung)" sowie gegen das "Gesetz zur Bekämpfung von Sexualdelikten und anderen gefährlichen Straftaten". Sie fordert die Länder auf, im Bundesrat gegen die Gesetze zu stimmen.

Beide Gesetze versprechen sich von verstärkten Zwangs- und Repressionsmaßnahmen einen besseren Schutz vor Sexualstraftaten. Strafverschärfungen haben aber keine abschreckende Wirkung auf potentielle Sexualstraftäter. Verstöße gegen die sexuelle Selbstbestimmung beruhen in der Regel nicht auf Abwägungsentscheidungen sondern sind sozio-psychisch motiviert. Lange Haft- oder Anstaltsaufenthalte setzen die Verurteilten der Perspektivlosigkeit aus und demotivieren ihre Lern- und Wandlungsbereitschaft. Die Drohung damit fördert Scheinanpassung, Isolierung, selbst- oder fremdgefährdende Verzweiflungs- und Verdeckungstaten. Strafverschärfungen bewirken auf diesem Gebiet das Gegenteil dessen, was durch sie eigentlich erreicht werden sollte.

Die AG-Pädo fordert eine Sexualstrafrechtsreform, die nicht auf Maßnahmen wie Haftstrafe, Sicherungsverwahrung und Zwangstherapie gerichtet ist, sondern die - wo immer das möglich ist - ausgleichende Instrumente wie Wiedergutmachung oder den Opfer-Täterausgleich vorsieht.

Insbesondere fordert die AG-Pädo aber eine Sexualstrafrechtsreform, welche die sexuelle Selbstbestimmung auch für Pädophile und Kinder sichert, also die Entkriminalisierung jeder einvernehmlichen Sexualität.

Die AG-Pädo kritisiert an § 176 StGB, daß er sowohl Erwachsenen als auch Kindern das Recht auf sexuelle Selbstbestimmung abspricht. Er bestärkt Kinder zwar in ihrem Recht auf Verweigerung sexueller Handlungen mit Erwachsenen (im Nein-sagen-können), nimmt ihnen aber durch Kriminalisierung ihrer Partner die Möglichkeit zu selbstgewollten Sexualkontakten mit Jugendlichen oder Erwachsenen (zum Ja-sagen).

Pädophile Menschen - Erwachsene, auf die Kinder sexuelle Reize ausüben und die sich deshalb zu einem Umgang mit Kindern hingezogen fühlen - gibt es und wird es auch künftig geben. Die Therapie einer sexuellen Orientierung wie der Pädophilie ist nicht möglich. Das Ziel einer Therapie kann nur eine Stärkung des Selbstbewußtseins und daraus folgend ein verantwortungsbewußter Umgang mit den eigenen sexuellen Bedürfnissen angesichts der bestehenden gesellschaftlichen und rechtlichen Situation sein. Da Therapie gegen den Willen der Betroffenen im besten Falle wirkungslos ist, fordert die AG-Pädo, umgehend die finanziellen und personellen Voraussetzungen für freiwillige Therapien innerhalb des Strafvollzugs, vor allem aber für anstaltsexterne Therapien zu schaffen.

Diesem Ziel, daß pädophil orientierte Menschen lernen können, mit ihrer Veranlagung gesetzeskonform und vor allem ohne Kindern zu schaden umzugehen, dienen auch die in der AG-Pädo vertretenen pädophilen Selbsthilfegruppen und Arbeitskreise.

Diese Gruppen verstehen sich zum einen als Selbsthilfegesprächsrunden, wo Pädophile sowohl homo- wie heterosexueller Orientierung mit Gleichgesinnten über alle möglichen Aspekte des Pädolebens reden können. Hier können Betroffene oft zum ersten Mal mit jemand anderem ihre Neigung und Nöte teilen und erkennen, daß sie damit nicht allein sind. Dadurch kann das oft angeschlagene Selbstbewußtsein des Einzelnen gestärkt werden.

Zum anderen werden in den Gruppen ethische und andere Fragen bezüglich der Sexualität zwischen Kindern und Erwachsenen erörtert und geklärt.

Die AG-Pädo erwartet von der Gesellschaft, daß sie pädophilen Menschen hilft, ohne Identitätsverlust und integer in der Gesellschaft leben zu können. Ein offener Austausch in sozialer Einbettung vermag den einzelnen Pädophilen dazu befähigen, den persönlichen Umgang mit seiner Sexualität verantwortlich zu gestalten. Dies ist wirksame Präventionsarbeit und aktiver Kinderschutz vor sexueller Gewalt. In der gegenwärtigen gesellschaftlichen Realität können erfahrene Pädo-Selbsthilfegruppen diese Aufgabe (auch therapeutisch) am besten leisten. Deshalb sollten sie nach Kräften unterstützt und gefördert werden.

Der AG-Pädo-Fachgruppensprecher, Gießen, den 17. 12. 1997.

RECEIVED FROM SPAIN

A DUTCH EXPERT DISCUSSES CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN VALENCIA

Valencia Thursday 16/10/97 Laveante, Lara Ripoll

"Only 1 % of pedophiles are rehabilitated after leaving prison."

Henry Adams, a fictitious name, was released after completing his sentence for sexual abuse of minors. The day he left prison, he was met at the prison gate by a group of his middle-aged friends such as himself. They were accompanied by a child. "Look Henry, it's for you" they said referring to the minor.

This true scene was used yesterday in Valencia by the psychologist and child sexual abuse investigator Francine Lamers-Winkelman (from the University of Amsterdam) to corroborate 'what, to the investigators is obvious: a prison sentence by itself doesn't solve the problem of pedophilia. "Only 1 % of abusers who serve time in prison, stop their behavior after leaving." Stated the doctor to this newspaper. That is to say that 99% are recidivists

Lamers, with more than 25 years of experience has given a two day seminar on child sexual abuse, organized by the association of the Community of Valencia for the promotion of the rights of children and the prevention of child abuse. (Apremi).

An analysis of the situation doesn't permit the specialists to say firmly that the phenomenon is on the rise. "We don't know, although we can say that society is more alert to it, it is sensitized to it."

It is certain, never the less that the first article denouncing child (infant) sexual abuse dates from 1857. "But if we read it" says Lamers "we would think that it is the present day because the theme is not new. What is new are the means being utilized: videos, photos, computer technology."

PORNOGRAPHY IN SPAIN

And "although it is not proven" she adds "it is thought that a part of the Dutch pornography comes from South America and Spain" a suspicion that is now being investigated by the international police.

Lamers confirms that the fact that the major part of the abuse is within the family makes them difficult to detect" although she observes that "society should not sensationalize the problem. "We must never forget that we are talking about children".

"CHILDREN ARE NOT POLITICALLY IMPORTANT" l.R. Valencia

There are not the resources to combat the sexual abuse of children because children are not politically interesting (or of a consequence to politicians). Once and for (for the good of all) children have to become a part of the political agenda of countries. No matter what the cost, the neglect will cost the society more.

Convincing and sure of what she believes, Lamers reaffirmed that the political powers can not count on prison terms alone to combat the problem. They have to do something more.

In her opinion, the way is through a very specialized therapy, "and even then, there is still no absolute guarantee that the subject will not return to his abusive behavior." Only England, in the context of Europe, has done "good work" in this respect, "but it has neglected to train therapists for the children."

The doctor believes also that to combat child sexual abuse, " it is not only important to make the child aware, but the adults as well." Because they, ultimately, are the ones who have the "power and means" to ask for the needed help.

(English Editorial Services Valencia, 1997)

Pedophilia The last taboo