A modern discussion of child sexual abuse in contemporary societies

Originally published in Spanish (2004) by Instituto de Sexologia, Madrid, Spain, as
Infancia, Sexualidad, y Peligro

* malon_childhood_sexuality_and_danger.pdf

Quotes from the Introduction

[...] Following a long period of intermittent dedication the thesis was finally defended, with good results, in March of 2004 in the city of Huesca. Six or seven years had elapsed since I had begun mapping it out, and I had evolved both as a person and a researcher. But above all, I had undergone a surprising evolution in the way that I thought about those acts which we now group together under the general concept of the sexual abuse of minors. The present work is undoubtedly a result of this transformation, and probably the beginning of future inquiries and changes as well. .
[...]
While investigating the subject of at-risk minors who had allegedly suffered sexual abuse, as well as accusations regarding minors who had themselves committed some type of offense against sexual liberty, my focus was providing professional intervention subsequent to these acts. This fieldwork was included in my doctoral thesis in an attempt to translate the day-to-day, concrete reality of what I had seen into a larger abuse discourse suitable to the era we were living through.
[...]
 It is [...] a book about the modern discourse over sexual dangerousness as it relates to the abuse of minors [...] What is important is that my contributions lead readers to critically re-examine what they have been saying and doing in this field.
[...]
My intention with this work is simply to provoke critical reflection -- which at times may be disquieting -- regarding how we see this problem, and how we respond to it. It is clear that the subject of erotic encounters involving minors and adults -- or other minors -- is complex and delicate. But this is precisely what needs to be brought up -- and what perhaps I shall attempt to address -- in this text. It is not a question of black and white, but of shades of gray, where variation is the only norm. For this reason, there is little use for dogmatic discourses which, under the banner of protecting the weak, end up putting society on the defensive.
[...]
The majority of the experiences included by researchers in the category of abuse are not
committed by so-called pedophiles; and yet, the latter have been converted into the bogey-men of modernity. Those who love children - and who very rarely attack them -- undoubtedly lead a complicated existence; especially those who are attracted to prepubertal children, since society is not likely to allow them to live out these experiences in relative liberty and tranquility. We have a lot to learn -- as do they -- about how to permit them to live out and express those desires through channels that are more acceptable, and that cause fewer problems for both minors and society.

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