Believe it or not I appreciate you voicing your opinion. I personally think we should be talking about this subject more.
As you know, our understanding of mental illnesses is far from solid and has changed sometimes dramatically. I am reminded of seasonal affective disorder, which has ‘evolved’ quite a bit through the different versions of the D.S.M., from a diagnostic perspective, at least. Other changes are because of changing public and professional opinion. I am specifically thinking of homosexuality. We came to understand it better, more people spoke out to say - this isn’t right and now we no longer classify it as a psychological disorder.
We need to understand pedophilia better. We need to know more. I think our understanding of it will change over time as well, for better or for worse. I am looking forward to a greater understanding and hopefully better treatment options. There’s not a lot we can do to help someone with an attraction to underage children and that tells me we don’t know enough about it.
For me, at the heart of it, a child is a child, whether or not they’ve hit puberty. 11-12-13 year olds need to be recognized as being vulnerable to predation. Everyone I know who was targeted by a predator was during this age range, including myself. The doctor who molested me when I was 12 is not a healthy well adjusted person. I was still a clueless child! These predators, who molest kids, are sick people who deserve the label of pedophile or something equally deviant. They were/are dangerous people who destroyed lives for their own sick pleasure.
Thank you for contributing your knowledge and commenting on this article.