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The ‘‘Participating Victim’’ in the Study of Erotic Experiences Between Children and Adults: An Historical Analysis;
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2009
During the 20th century, erotic experiences between minors and adults occupied a position of increasing interest, both public as well as scientific. In this area of research, one of the most notable evolutions in how these experiences are treated has been the progressive disappearance and/or the intense redefinition of what earlier researchers called ‘‘participating victims,’’ i.e.,minors apparently interested in accepting and/or sustaining these relationships.
The present work, through a comparative analysis of the literature, seeks to substantiate this transformation during the second third of the 20th century. It will also argue that this evolution can be fundamentally explained in terms of the intense emotional, moral, and ideological importance that is ascribed to these experiences in the rise of the current victimological paradigm.
Finally, this study endeavors to contribute to the understanding of childhood and the scientific study of child sexuality as well as of these experiences
with adults.
During the 20th century, erotic experiences between minors and adults occupied a position of increasing interest, both public as well as scientific. In this area of research, one of the most notable evolutions in how these experiences are treated has been the progressive disappearance and/or the intense redefinition of what earlier researchers called ‘‘participating victims,’’ i.e.,minors apparently interested in accepting and/or sustaining these relationships.
The present work, through a comparative analysis of the literature, seeks to substantiate this transformation during the second third of the 20th century. It will also argue that this evolution can be fundamentally explained in terms of the intense emotional, moral, and ideological importance that is ascribed to these experiences in the rise of the current victimological paradigm.
Finally, this study endeavors to contribute to the understanding of childhood and the scientific study of child sexuality as well as of these experiences
with adults.
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Orthodox Jewish Community Struggles With Abuse Allegations;
Alleged Victims and Advocates Say Sex Abuse Common, Rarely Discussed;
,
May 05 2009
When Joel Engelman was 8 years old, he says, he was called from his Hebrew class to the principal's office at his Brooklyn yeshiva, a Jewish religious school. [... ...]
When Engelman arrived at the principal's office, he says, Reichman told him to close the door. He told the boy to sit on his lap and began swiveling his chair back and forth, Engelman says. Reichman then touched him, moving from his shoulders down, Engelman claims.
The same kind of abuse went on twice a week for several months before he left the school, Engelman claims in a civil lawsuit filed against the yeshiva, the United Talmudical Academy.
When Joel Engelman was 8 years old, he says, he was called from his Hebrew class to the principal's office at his Brooklyn yeshiva, a Jewish religious school. [... ...]
When Engelman arrived at the principal's office, he says, Reichman told him to close the door. He told the boy to sit on his lap and began swiveling his chair back and forth, Engelman says. Reichman then touched him, moving from his shoulders down, Engelman claims.
The same kind of abuse went on twice a week for several months before he left the school, Engelman claims in a civil lawsuit filed against the yeshiva, the United Talmudical Academy.
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Child Sexual Abuse in the Etiology of Depression;
Depression and Anxiety;
27(2010), 631 - 642
This article addresses the best available scienti?c evidence on the topic, by providing a systematic review of the several reviews that have investigated the literature on the issue.
Seven databases were searched, supplemented with hand search of reference lists from retrieved papers.
Four reviews, including about 60,000 subjects from 160 studies and having no limitations that could invalidate their results, were analyzed.
There is evidence that child sexual abuse is a signi?cant, although general and nonspeci?c, risk factor for depression.
Additional variables may either act independently to promote depression in people with a history of sexual abuse or interact with such traumatic experience to increase the likelihood of depression in child abuse survivors.
For all victims of abuse, programs should focus not only on treating symptoms, but also on reducing additional risk factors. Depressed adults who seek psychiatric treatment should be enquired about early abuse within admission procedures.
This article addresses the best available scienti?c evidence on the topic, by providing a systematic review of the several reviews that have investigated the literature on the issue.
Seven databases were searched, supplemented with hand search of reference lists from retrieved papers.
Four reviews, including about 60,000 subjects from 160 studies and having no limitations that could invalidate their results, were analyzed.
There is evidence that child sexual abuse is a signi?cant, although general and nonspeci?c, risk factor for depression.
Additional variables may either act independently to promote depression in people with a history of sexual abuse or interact with such traumatic experience to increase the likelihood of depression in child abuse survivors.
For all victims of abuse, programs should focus not only on treating symptoms, but also on reducing additional risk factors. Depressed adults who seek psychiatric treatment should be enquired about early abuse within admission procedures.
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Problems with Ascertainment;
Archives of Sexual Behavior;
39(6), 1225–1227
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"The individual can ...": Objectifying consent;
Thymos;
4(2), 103-112,
Oct 01 2010
The issue of age of consent for sexual activities has been bedevilled by the absence of any objective standards or criteria for what is meant by or involved in 'consent'. Despite this absence-or because of it-the social and political response has been to reach for blanket prohibitions on sexual activity by persons under particular ages-ages which have settled in the mid- to late teens.
At the same time, the percentages of persons aged 15 and under who are sexually active in our societies indicate that young people are regularly consenting to sexual activities. Consent to sexual activity has also been a concern in relation to the lives of the cognitively or mentally impaired.
In an attempt to clarify issues surrounding consent there, a significant proposal in regard to objectifying standards for consent was reported by Carrie Hill Kennedy, in her article "Assessing Competency to Consent to Sexual Activity in the Cognitively Impaired Population" (Journal of Forensic Neuropsychology 1:3, 1999), where she developed a two-part scale for ability to consent, including twelve criteria involving knowledge and five criteria involving personal assertiveness and safety. Kennedy herself has maintained that there is no relevance for her research as applied to minors: adults have sexual rights, minors do not.
However, it would seem clear that there is a certain relevance-if not in the use of a similar scale for assessing the competence of a particular minor to consent, then in generally comparing the age at which children attain the developmental level comparable with that implied by Kennedy's five Safety standards, and using that information to critique the present, obviously unrealistic ages of consent. In relation to the Knowledge scale, the importance of sexual education becomes still clearer.
The issue of age of consent for sexual activities has been bedevilled by the absence of any objective standards or criteria for what is meant by or involved in 'consent'. Despite this absence-or because of it-the social and political response has been to reach for blanket prohibitions on sexual activity by persons under particular ages-ages which have settled in the mid- to late teens.
At the same time, the percentages of persons aged 15 and under who are sexually active in our societies indicate that young people are regularly consenting to sexual activities. Consent to sexual activity has also been a concern in relation to the lives of the cognitively or mentally impaired.
In an attempt to clarify issues surrounding consent there, a significant proposal in regard to objectifying standards for consent was reported by Carrie Hill Kennedy, in her article "Assessing Competency to Consent to Sexual Activity in the Cognitively Impaired Population" (Journal of Forensic Neuropsychology 1:3, 1999), where she developed a two-part scale for ability to consent, including twelve criteria involving knowledge and five criteria involving personal assertiveness and safety. Kennedy herself has maintained that there is no relevance for her research as applied to minors: adults have sexual rights, minors do not.
However, it would seem clear that there is a certain relevance-if not in the use of a similar scale for assessing the competence of a particular minor to consent, then in generally comparing the age at which children attain the developmental level comparable with that implied by Kennedy's five Safety standards, and using that information to critique the present, obviously unrealistic ages of consent. In relation to the Knowledge scale, the importance of sexual education becomes still clearer.
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The role of child sexual abuse in the etiology of suicide and non-suicidal self-injury;
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica;
2011(124), 30 - 41
Objective: To address the best available scienti?c evidence on the role of child sexual abuse in the etiology of suicide and non-suicidal self-injury. Seven databases were searched.
There is evidence that child sexual abuse is a statistically signi?cant, although general and non-speci?c, risk factor for suicide and non-suicidal self-injury.
Child sexual abuse may not have a psrimary role in the etiology of suicide and non-suicidal self-injury.
The role of child sexual abuse in the etiology of suicide and non-suicidal self-injury is complex.
Additional biological and psychological risk factors may, in some cases, be directly responsible for, or, in other cases, contribute to the risk of suicidal en on-suicidal self-injurious behavior by mediating the relationship between child sexual abuse and self-injurious behavior.
The presence of confounding variables and the poor quality of the studies do not allow for causal inferences to be made.
Objective: To address the best available scienti?c evidence on the role of child sexual abuse in the etiology of suicide and non-suicidal self-injury. Seven databases were searched.
There is evidence that child sexual abuse is a statistically signi?cant, although general and non-speci?c, risk factor for suicide and non-suicidal self-injury.
Child sexual abuse may not have a psrimary role in the etiology of suicide and non-suicidal self-injury.
The role of child sexual abuse in the etiology of suicide and non-suicidal self-injury is complex.
Additional biological and psychological risk factors may, in some cases, be directly responsible for, or, in other cases, contribute to the risk of suicidal en on-suicidal self-injurious behavior by mediating the relationship between child sexual abuse and self-injurious behavior.
The presence of confounding variables and the poor quality of the studies do not allow for causal inferences to be made.
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Sexual abuse and lifetime diagnosis of psychiatric disorders;
Mayo Clinic Proceedings ;
2011(July 31, 2011 ),
There was no statistically significant association between sexual abuse and a diagnosis of schizophrenia or somatoform disorders.
No longitudinal studies that assessed bipolar disorder or
obsessive-compulsive disorder were found.
Associations between sexual abuse and depression, eating disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder were strengthened by a history of rape.
Conclusion: A history of sexual abuse is associated with an increased risk of a lifetime diagnosis of multiple psychiatric disorders.
There was no statistically significant association between sexual abuse and a diagnosis of schizophrenia or somatoform disorders.
No longitudinal studies that assessed bipolar disorder or
obsessive-compulsive disorder were found.
Associations between sexual abuse and depression, eating disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder were strengthened by a history of rape.
Conclusion: A history of sexual abuse is associated with an increased risk of a lifetime diagnosis of multiple psychiatric disorders.
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Hebephilia Is Not a Mental Disorder in DSM-IV-TR and Should Not Become One in DSM-5;
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law;
39(1), 78-85,
Feb 01 2011
The paraphilia section of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) is being misinterpreted in the forensic evaluations of sexually violent offenders. The resulting misuse of the term paraphilia not otherwise specified, hebephilia, has justified the inappropriate involuntary commitment of individuals who do not in fact qualify for a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of mental disorder. This article has two purposes: to clarify what the DSM-IV-TR was meant to convey and how it has been twisted in translation within the legal system, and to warn that the DSM-5 proposal to include pedohebephilia threatens to make the current bad situation very much worse in the future.
The paraphilia section of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) is being misinterpreted in the forensic evaluations of sexually violent offenders. The resulting misuse of the term paraphilia not otherwise specified, hebephilia, has justified the inappropriate involuntary commitment of individuals who do not in fact qualify for a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of mental disorder. This article has two purposes: to clarify what the DSM-IV-TR was meant to convey and how it has been twisted in translation within the legal system, and to warn that the DSM-5 proposal to include pedohebephilia threatens to make the current bad situation very much worse in the future.
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See No Evil,
Nov 26 2011
This obsession with the insubstantial and/or inconsequential has created a bizarre inversion of priorities in many Western countries; major issues which are largely hidden from public view, or which affect a comparatively small number of people, are virtually ignored in favor of absurdly expensive, intrusive and punitive campaigns against “crimes” which actually injure nobody.
One example of this is the crusade against “child porn”; mere possession of an image is deemed a “crime” equal to using actual children to create that image, and artificial images such as sketches or written descriptions are in many cases considered equivalent to the real thing; this is tantamount to banning fictional depictions of murder.
The excuse used is that artificial images “create a demand” for porn, but this is mere sophistry; human beings are not computers to be programmed, and as any marketing expert will tell you it’s impossible to “create” a demand for something without somehow tying it to a real demand such as the desire for food, sex, status, health, wealth, etc.
In other words, one can’t “market” child porn to anyone who isn’t already sexually attracted to children ...
The current hysteria over “bullying” is another example; what person has
never been bullied or observed another being bullied? Such behavior is merely
the human equivalent of animals posturing and snarling to establish a pecking
order; it cannot be eliminated without lobotomizing the entire population at
about the age of four. ...
This obsession with the insubstantial and/or inconsequential has created a bizarre inversion of priorities in many Western countries; major issues which are largely hidden from public view, or which affect a comparatively small number of people, are virtually ignored in favor of absurdly expensive, intrusive and punitive campaigns against “crimes” which actually injure nobody.
One example of this is the crusade against “child porn”; mere possession of an image is deemed a “crime” equal to using actual children to create that image, and artificial images such as sketches or written descriptions are in many cases considered equivalent to the real thing; this is tantamount to banning fictional depictions of murder.
The excuse used is that artificial images “create a demand” for porn, but this is mere sophistry; human beings are not computers to be programmed, and as any marketing expert will tell you it’s impossible to “create” a demand for something without somehow tying it to a real demand such as the desire for food, sex, status, health, wealth, etc.
In other words, one can’t “market” child porn to anyone who isn’t already sexually attracted to children ...
The current hysteria over “bullying” is another example; what person has
never been bullied or observed another being bullied? Such behavior is merely
the human equivalent of animals posturing and snarling to establish a pecking
order; it cannot be eliminated without lobotomizing the entire population at
about the age of four. ...
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Quotes from: Pedophilia, A Diagnosis in Search of a Disorder;
Arch Sex Behav;
41, 1083 - 1097,
Feb 25 2012
This article presents a critical review of the recent controversies concerning the diagnosis of pedophilia in the context of the preparation of the fifth edition of theDSM.
The analysis focuses basically on the relationship between pedophilia and the currentDSM-IV-TR’s definition ofmental disorder. Scholars appear not to share numerous basic assumptions ranging from their underlying ideas about what constitutes a mental disorder to the role of psychiatry in modern society, including irreconcilable theories about human sexuality, which interfere with reaching any kind of a consensus as to what the psychiatric status of pedophilia
should be.
It is questioned if the diagnosis of pedophilia containedin the DSM is more forensic than therapeutic, focusing rather on the dangers inherent in the condition of pedophilia (dangerous dysfunction) than on its negative effects for the subject (harmful dysfunction).
The apparent necessity of the diagnosis of pedophilia in the DSM is supported, but the basis for this diagnosis is uncertain.
This article presents a critical review of the recent controversies concerning the diagnosis of pedophilia in the context of the preparation of the fifth edition of theDSM.
The analysis focuses basically on the relationship between pedophilia and the currentDSM-IV-TR’s definition ofmental disorder. Scholars appear not to share numerous basic assumptions ranging from their underlying ideas about what constitutes a mental disorder to the role of psychiatry in modern society, including irreconcilable theories about human sexuality, which interfere with reaching any kind of a consensus as to what the psychiatric status of pedophilia
should be.
It is questioned if the diagnosis of pedophilia containedin the DSM is more forensic than therapeutic, focusing rather on the dangers inherent in the condition of pedophilia (dangerous dysfunction) than on its negative effects for the subject (harmful dysfunction).
The apparent necessity of the diagnosis of pedophilia in the DSM is supported, but the basis for this diagnosis is uncertain.
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Scorched Earth,
Feb 27 2012
The 21st century American view of sex is warped beyond that of any other historical culture. The official and popular paradigm appears to be based on the belief that sex is such a horrible, monstrous abomination that the mere mention of it to an adult can constitute “violence”, that participating in it for taboo reasons can be a “crime”, and that if a person is exposed to sexual contact, conversation or imagery (...) even one minute before midnight on her 18th birthday she will be instantly and irreversibly ruined beyond any hope of redemption.
[...]
It’s time to stop being afraid of the activity to which every single one of us owes his existence, and to stop fighting a war whose casualties are far greater than any the “threat” itself has ever produced.
The 21st century American view of sex is warped beyond that of any other historical culture. The official and popular paradigm appears to be based on the belief that sex is such a horrible, monstrous abomination that the mere mention of it to an adult can constitute “violence”, that participating in it for taboo reasons can be a “crime”, and that if a person is exposed to sexual contact, conversation or imagery (...) even one minute before midnight on her 18th birthday she will be instantly and irreversibly ruined beyond any hope of redemption.
[...]
It’s time to stop being afraid of the activity to which every single one of us owes his existence, and to stop fighting a war whose casualties are far greater than any the “threat” itself has ever produced.
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Low reoffending risk found for child porn users,
Mar 11 2012
REOFFENDING rates by child pornography users are far below rates for assaults, drink-driving or property damage, with fewer than one in 10 people who download sexual images of minors later convicted of the crime again.
Despite community concern about the dangers posed by convicted child pornography users, new Corrections Victoria figures reveal only about 7.5 per cent are found to reoffend.
REOFFENDING rates by child pornography users are far below rates for assaults, drink-driving or property damage, with fewer than one in 10 people who download sexual images of minors later convicted of the crime again.
Despite community concern about the dangers posed by convicted child pornography users, new Corrections Victoria figures reveal only about 7.5 per cent are found to reoffend.
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The Unfair Criminalization of Gay and Transgender Youth,
Jun 29 2012
Gay, transgender, and gender nonconforming youth are significantly over-represented in the juvenile justice system [...]. These high rates of involvement in the juvenile justice system are a result of gay and transgender youth abandonment by their families and communities, and victimization in their schools—sad realities that place this group of young people at a heightened risk of entering the school-to-prison pipeline. [...]
Angela Irvine of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in conjunction with the Equity Project, which works to ensure gay and transgender youth in the juvenile justice system are treated with fairness and respect, have both generated groundbreaking research on the experiences of these youth in the system over the past few years.
This issue brief offers a high-level summary of some of their findings, as well as others, to explain the disproportionate pipelining of gay and transgender youth into the juvenile justice system, the bias and discrimination they face once within the system, and the steps that the federal government and state and local juvenile courts can take to ensure that gay and transgender youth are treated with dignity and respect.
Gay, transgender, and gender nonconforming youth are significantly over-represented in the juvenile justice system [...]. These high rates of involvement in the juvenile justice system are a result of gay and transgender youth abandonment by their families and communities, and victimization in their schools—sad realities that place this group of young people at a heightened risk of entering the school-to-prison pipeline. [...]
Angela Irvine of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in conjunction with the Equity Project, which works to ensure gay and transgender youth in the juvenile justice system are treated with fairness and respect, have both generated groundbreaking research on the experiences of these youth in the system over the past few years.
This issue brief offers a high-level summary of some of their findings, as well as others, to explain the disproportionate pipelining of gay and transgender youth into the juvenile justice system, the bias and discrimination they face once within the system, and the steps that the federal government and state and local juvenile courts can take to ensure that gay and transgender youth are treated with dignity and respect.
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5 O.C. teens identified as victims in widespread child-exploitation investigation,
Mar 19 2014
Five teenage boys from Orange County are among more than 250 juvenile victims identified in one of the largest online child exploitation investigations ever conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations division. [...]
The Orange County victims ranged in age from 14 to 17 and were contacted in online chat rooms, authorities said. [...]
The teens were duped into producing “very graphic images and videos of themselves” and sending them to what they believed were teenage girls when, in fact, they were producing images for pedophiles ...
Fourteen people – none in Orange County – have been charged as a result of the investigation. It targeted a child pornography website on what is known as the Darknet’s Onion Router ...
Overview of child pornography cases ...
Tips for parents ... Tips for kids ...
Comment - by an Ipce Member [...]
Wow. So many criminals, and so much criminal activity on that website. Thank God for that investigation! The millions of dollars the investigation cost were very well spent! And it is clearly worthwhile that the 26,986 other members of that site who never did anything illegal have now been denied the use of a site they had enjoyed using, and which they used completely legally. Good job, law enforcers!
Five teenage boys from Orange County are among more than 250 juvenile victims identified in one of the largest online child exploitation investigations ever conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations division. [...]
The Orange County victims ranged in age from 14 to 17 and were contacted in online chat rooms, authorities said. [...]
The teens were duped into producing “very graphic images and videos of themselves” and sending them to what they believed were teenage girls when, in fact, they were producing images for pedophiles ...
Fourteen people – none in Orange County – have been charged as a result of the investigation. It targeted a child pornography website on what is known as the Darknet’s Onion Router ...
Overview of child pornography cases ...
Tips for parents ... Tips for kids ...
Comment - by an Ipce Member [...]
Wow. So many criminals, and so much criminal activity on that website. Thank God for that investigation! The millions of dollars the investigation cost were very well spent! And it is clearly worthwhile that the 26,986 other members of that site who never did anything illegal have now been denied the use of a site they had enjoyed using, and which they used completely legally. Good job, law enforcers!
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Adult–Child Sex and the Limits of Liberal Sexual Morality;
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2015 - 44 - Febr.
This article is a critical review of the most common arguments in the specialized literature about the moral status of sexual relationships between adults and prepubescent children.The intent is to reveal how the usual ethical analysis of these experiences, done from a general sexual morality, with a Kantian and utilitarian basis, very clearly shows us the limits and contradictions of contemporary liberal morality regarding sexual matters.
It leaves open the possibility that, under certain circumstances, these relationships may be morally admissible. Some shortcomings and contradictions in these liberal arguments suggest that it would be of interest to refer to other authors and ideas to value adult–child sex, approaches that are based on a specific sexual morality concerning the issue of sexual virtues and a more complex conception of human sexual desire. Some of the scientific implications of these moral issues are also discussed.
From the quotes:
- My intention is to show that, limiting ourselves to these three ethical criteria [*], it can be concluded that under certain circumstances sexual experiences between children and adults could be morally permissible.
[* (1) Consent (2) No instrumentalisation and exploitation (3) No harm]
- The adult’s exploitation of the child does not depend on the inequality in power, but rather on the use the adult makes of that power.
- The problem is precisely the fact that children are taught to be submissive with adults, especially concerning sexual matters, where they are kept in dangerous ignorance that makes them especially vulnerable. Giving the child more information and more power would mean they could reject, refuse and say no, something that then puts us in the dangerous position where they could also say yes.
- It has been argued that under certain circumstances these experiences are not only harmless, but are in fact even positive and beneficial for the child. When there is no violence, coercion, deception, concealment, etc., some state that the negative consequences attributed to these events no longer exist. In these cases the simple will of the child to participate in a relationship they find pleasurable is more than enough to allow it.
- Ultimately, based on the possibility of damage that even though it may be only hypothetical and sometimes caused by society’s reaction, makes it more plausible to opt for a cautious prohibition.
- I judge it to be the case that, even if only for prudential reasons, this general rejection seems to be justified, especially when social condemnation is so intense in the large majority of people.
- I have also taken the principal criticisms to these arguments into consideration, concluding that there are sufficient reasons, even of a prudential nature, to uphold the social rejection of sexual relationships between adults and minors under a certain age.
- My aim, however, was focused on showing how these arguments are incapable of justifying a definitive and universal rejection of these relationships, as they always leave the possibility open that some of them are or could be morally permissible.
This article is a critical review of the most common arguments in the specialized literature about the moral status of sexual relationships between adults and prepubescent children.The intent is to reveal how the usual ethical analysis of these experiences, done from a general sexual morality, with a Kantian and utilitarian basis, very clearly shows us the limits and contradictions of contemporary liberal morality regarding sexual matters.
It leaves open the possibility that, under certain circumstances, these relationships may be morally admissible. Some shortcomings and contradictions in these liberal arguments suggest that it would be of interest to refer to other authors and ideas to value adult–child sex, approaches that are based on a specific sexual morality concerning the issue of sexual virtues and a more complex conception of human sexual desire. Some of the scientific implications of these moral issues are also discussed.
From the quotes:
- My intention is to show that, limiting ourselves to these three ethical criteria [*], it can be concluded that under certain circumstances sexual experiences between children and adults could be morally permissible.
[* (1) Consent (2) No instrumentalisation and exploitation (3) No harm]
- The adult’s exploitation of the child does not depend on the inequality in power, but rather on the use the adult makes of that power.
- The problem is precisely the fact that children are taught to be submissive with adults, especially concerning sexual matters, where they are kept in dangerous ignorance that makes them especially vulnerable. Giving the child more information and more power would mean they could reject, refuse and say no, something that then puts us in the dangerous position where they could also say yes.
- It has been argued that under certain circumstances these experiences are not only harmless, but are in fact even positive and beneficial for the child. When there is no violence, coercion, deception, concealment, etc., some state that the negative consequences attributed to these events no longer exist. In these cases the simple will of the child to participate in a relationship they find pleasurable is more than enough to allow it.
- Ultimately, based on the possibility of damage that even though it may be only hypothetical and sometimes caused by society’s reaction, makes it more plausible to opt for a cautious prohibition.
- I judge it to be the case that, even if only for prudential reasons, this general rejection seems to be justified, especially when social condemnation is so intense in the large majority of people.
- I have also taken the principal criticisms to these arguments into consideration, concluding that there are sufficient reasons, even of a prudential nature, to uphold the social rejection of sexual relationships between adults and minors under a certain age.
- My aim, however, was focused on showing how these arguments are incapable of justifying a definitive and universal rejection of these relationships, as they always leave the possibility open that some of them are or could be morally permissible.
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The ethics of pedophilia;
Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics ;
9(1), 111-124
Pedophilia is bad. But how bad is it? And in what ways, and for what reasons, is it bad? This is a thorny issue, and sadly, one seldom discussed by ethicists. I argue in this article that pedophilia is bad only because, and only to the extent that, it causes harm to children, and that pedophilia itself, as well as pedophilic expressions and practices that do not cause harm to children, are morally all right. I further argue that the aim of our social and legal treatment of pedophilia should be to minimize harm to children, and that current practices are often counterproductive in this respect.
Pedophilia is bad. But how bad is it? And in what ways, and for what reasons, is it bad? This is a thorny issue, and sadly, one seldom discussed by ethicists. I argue in this article that pedophilia is bad only because, and only to the extent that, it causes harm to children, and that pedophilia itself, as well as pedophilic expressions and practices that do not cause harm to children, are morally all right. I further argue that the aim of our social and legal treatment of pedophilia should be to minimize harm to children, and that current practices are often counterproductive in this respect.
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A Prospective Examination of Whether Childhood Sexual Abuse Predicts Subsequent Sexual Offending;
JAMA Pediatrics;
January 5, 2015, ,
Jan 05 2015
Conclusions:
This study represents a long-term and comprehensive assessment of the extent to which sexually abused children become sex offenders and compares them to physically abused and neglected and nonmaltreated children. These findings show that physically abused and neglected children are at increased risk for being arrested for sex crimes and should receive effective interventions to avert these negative consequences. These results do not provide support for the common belief that being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse carries with it a unique increase in the risk for becoming a sex offender, contrary to some public policies and administrative practices of some jurisdictions where children may be stigmatized, placed in restrictive settings, or barred from schools. Perhaps it is time for a Government Accountability Office report or Institute of Medicine panel study to reevaluate public policies and treatment efforts that have been implemented based on common assumptions.
Conclusions:
This study represents a long-term and comprehensive assessment of the extent to which sexually abused children become sex offenders and compares them to physically abused and neglected and nonmaltreated children. These findings show that physically abused and neglected children are at increased risk for being arrested for sex crimes and should receive effective interventions to avert these negative consequences. These results do not provide support for the common belief that being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse carries with it a unique increase in the risk for becoming a sex offender, contrary to some public policies and administrative practices of some jurisdictions where children may be stigmatized, placed in restrictive settings, or barred from schools. Perhaps it is time for a Government Accountability Office report or Institute of Medicine panel study to reevaluate public policies and treatment efforts that have been implemented based on common assumptions.
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Minor Physical Anomalies as a Window into the Prenatal Origins of Pedophilia;
Archives of Sexual Behavior;
2015(564), ,
Jun 10 2015
Evidence is steadily accumulating to support a neurodevelopmental basis for pedophilia. This includes increased incidence of non-right-handedness, which is a result primarily of prenatal neural development and solidified very early in life. Minor physical anomalies (MPAs; superficial deviations from typical morphological development, such as un-detached earlobes) also develop only prenatally, suggesting them as another potential marker of atypical physiological development during the prenatal period among pedophiles.
This study administered the Waldrop Physical Anomaly Scale to assess the prevalence of MPAs in a clinical sample of men referred for assessment following a sexual assault, or another illegal or clinically significant sexual behavior.
Significant associations emerged between MPA indices and indicators of pedophilia, including penile responses to depictions of children, number of child victims, and possession of child pornography. Moreover, greater sexual attraction to children was associated with an elevated craniofacial-to-peripheral anomalies ratio. The overall sample demonstrated a greater number of MPAs relative to prior samples of individuals with schizophrenia as well as to healthy controls.
Evidence is steadily accumulating to support a neurodevelopmental basis for pedophilia. This includes increased incidence of non-right-handedness, which is a result primarily of prenatal neural development and solidified very early in life. Minor physical anomalies (MPAs; superficial deviations from typical morphological development, such as un-detached earlobes) also develop only prenatally, suggesting them as another potential marker of atypical physiological development during the prenatal period among pedophiles.
This study administered the Waldrop Physical Anomaly Scale to assess the prevalence of MPAs in a clinical sample of men referred for assessment following a sexual assault, or another illegal or clinically significant sexual behavior.
Significant associations emerged between MPA indices and indicators of pedophilia, including penile responses to depictions of children, number of child victims, and possession of child pornography. Moreover, greater sexual attraction to children was associated with an elevated craniofacial-to-peripheral anomalies ratio. The overall sample demonstrated a greater number of MPAs relative to prior samples of individuals with schizophrenia as well as to healthy controls.
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Non-offending Pedophiles;
Current Sexual Health Reports;
8(3, september 2016; on line May 2016), 121-128
Non-offending pedophiles are a unique population of individuals who experience sexual interest in children, but despite common misperceptions, have neither had sexual contact with a child nor have accessed illegal child sexual exploitation material.
An emerging body of research has examined the prevalence of pedophilic interests, characteristics of non-offending pedophiles, correlates of pedophilic interests, and stigma associated with pedophilia.
Treatment programs are beginning to produce findings regarding the effectiveness of treatment in supporting non-offending pedophiles to remain
offense-free.
The current review spans these areas of research and discusses potential treatment options for working with non-offending pedophiles based on that research base.
Non-offending pedophiles are a unique population of individuals who experience sexual interest in children, but despite common misperceptions, have neither had sexual contact with a child nor have accessed illegal child sexual exploitation material.
An emerging body of research has examined the prevalence of pedophilic interests, characteristics of non-offending pedophiles, correlates of pedophilic interests, and stigma associated with pedophilia.
Treatment programs are beginning to produce findings regarding the effectiveness of treatment in supporting non-offending pedophiles to remain
offense-free.
The current review spans these areas of research and discusses potential treatment options for working with non-offending pedophiles based on that research base.
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Evidence for ... Inhibitory Control Abilities ...;
Human Brain Mapping;
38(2), ,
Oct 21 2016
Neurobehavioral models of pedophilia and child sexual offending suggest a pattern of temporal and in particular prefrontal disturbances leading to inappropriate behavioral control and subsequently an increased propensity to sexually offend against children. However, clear empirical evidence for such mechanisms is still missing. [...]
We compared behavioral performance and neural response patterns among three groups of men [...]: pedophiles with (...) and without (...) a history of hands-on sexual offences against children as well as healthy non-offending controls (...).
As compared to offending pedophiles, non-offending pedophiles exhibited superior inhibitory control [...] while no significant differences were found between pedophiles and healthy controls.
Data therefore suggest that heightened inhibition-related recruitment [...] is related to better inhibitory control in pedophiles who successfully avoid committing hands-on sexual offences against children.
Neurobehavioral models of pedophilia and child sexual offending suggest a pattern of temporal and in particular prefrontal disturbances leading to inappropriate behavioral control and subsequently an increased propensity to sexually offend against children. However, clear empirical evidence for such mechanisms is still missing. [...]
We compared behavioral performance and neural response patterns among three groups of men [...]: pedophiles with (...) and without (...) a history of hands-on sexual offences against children as well as healthy non-offending controls (...).
As compared to offending pedophiles, non-offending pedophiles exhibited superior inhibitory control [...] while no significant differences were found between pedophiles and healthy controls.
Data therefore suggest that heightened inhibition-related recruitment [...] is related to better inhibitory control in pedophiles who successfully avoid committing hands-on sexual offences against children.
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Adult-Child Sex and the Demands of Virtuous Sexual Morality;
Sexuality & Culture;
21(1), 247-269
This article is the continuation of a previous analysis of the usual arguments —
lack of consent, exploitation and harm — used to evaluate sexual experiences
between adults and children from general moral principles. It has been suggested that those arguments were insufficient to condemn all adult-child sexual experiences, and that it would be of interest to study others that come from a specific sexual morality based on a more complex and transcendent conception of human eroticism and sexual conduct.
This paper develops three different arguments against adult-child sex from this perspective, a view which, while not rejecting the Kantian and utilitarian approaches,complements and transforms them with a virtue ethic that questions not only the permissibility of certain acts but also their moral desirability under this frame of reference.
This helps us to clarify the scientific discourse on adult-child sex and directs us to the importance of attending to the educational dimension of this moral problem.
This article is the continuation of a previous analysis of the usual arguments —
lack of consent, exploitation and harm — used to evaluate sexual experiences
between adults and children from general moral principles. It has been suggested that those arguments were insufficient to condemn all adult-child sexual experiences, and that it would be of interest to study others that come from a specific sexual morality based on a more complex and transcendent conception of human eroticism and sexual conduct.
This paper develops three different arguments against adult-child sex from this perspective, a view which, while not rejecting the Kantian and utilitarian approaches,complements and transforms them with a virtue ethic that questions not only the permissibility of certain acts but also their moral desirability under this frame of reference.
This helps us to clarify the scientific discourse on adult-child sex and directs us to the importance of attending to the educational dimension of this moral problem.
;
References of Malón's Adult-Child Sex and the Demands of Virtuous Sexual Morality;
Sexuality & Culture;
21(1),
References of: Adult-Child Sex and the Demands of Virtuous Sexual Morality
Sexuality & Culture, by Malón, Augustin
References of: Adult-Child Sex and the Demands of Virtuous Sexual Morality
Sexuality & Culture, by Malón, Augustin
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Cognitive Distortion in Music,
Oct 01 2020
Having Doubts about the success of your release? It might be due to distortion
And not the kind that helped shape the sound of modern music.
No, you might be suffering from the kind of distortion that kills creativity instead of spark it.
I’m talking about cognitive distortion.
Cognitive distortion does not live in your music production software, but in your mind. [...]
Why do we suffer from cognitive distortion? [...]
8 Cognitive distortions that might be holding you back [...]
3 Steps to overcoming self-doubt [...]
Having Doubts about the success of your release? It might be due to distortion
And not the kind that helped shape the sound of modern music.
No, you might be suffering from the kind of distortion that kills creativity instead of spark it.
I’m talking about cognitive distortion.
Cognitive distortion does not live in your music production software, but in your mind. [...]
Why do we suffer from cognitive distortion? [...]
8 Cognitive distortions that might be holding you back [...]
3 Steps to overcoming self-doubt [...]
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Memory and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy ...;
Memory;
August 2021,
Does Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy affect the accuracy of memories? This recurrent issue in recent memory research bears relevance to expert witness work in the courtroom. In this review, we will argue that several crucial aspects of EMDR may be detrimental to memory.
Does Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy affect the accuracy of memories? This recurrent issue in recent memory research bears relevance to expert witness work in the courtroom. In this review, we will argue that several crucial aspects of EMDR may be detrimental to memory.
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Virginia high court rules against device gauging sexual arousal;
The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday that courts cannot rely on a machine that measures sexual arousal of accused sex offenders without evidence to back up the machine's accuracy.
Scientists are divided on the reliability of the plethysmograph. Some have found it accurate in determining recidivism among sex offenders. Others have found it unreliable, and some states prohibit its use entirely.
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday that courts cannot rely on a machine that measures sexual arousal of accused sex offenders without evidence to back up the machine's accuracy.
Scientists are divided on the reliability of the plethysmograph. Some have found it accurate in determining recidivism among sex offenders. Others have found it unreliable, and some states prohibit its use entirely.