Not every pedophile is a rapist.

[robvalue]

Of course I will want any child abuser put away in prison for as long as possible, as much as anyone else. But the problem is with assuming all/most paedophiles will be child abusers. Since we have so little data, it's a ridiculous conclusion to draw. As has been said, if we only know about abusers that get caught, and have no idea how many non-abusers there are, it's a self-selecting sample.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Once it's accepted not every paedophile is going to grab and rape every kid, just like not every gay you see is desperate to bum you, we'll be able to help each other.

When you become a parent, you'll understand the problem with this post, Rob. Helping my child avoid molestation was more important than helping any number of pedophiles -- because as a parent, I could not afford to think otherwise. As a parent, my responsibility was, and is, to my child.

While I sure want to understand the problems that turn people into pedophiles, I sure in hell am not going to take the chance that he might "grab and rape" my child.

[Angrboda]

The problem is that you can't simply test everyone who is going to work with children. So saying, "Keep them away" is just not going to work. You're effectively letting them in unknown instead, because they have no choice but to keep quiet.

Once it's accepted not every paedophile is going to grab and rape every kid, just like not every gay you see is desperate to bum you, we'll be able to help each other.

Oddly enough there are projects in Germany aimed at persuading pedophiles, offending and non-offending, to come forward for treatment. One peculiarity of this is that Germany has no mandatory reporting law, so the information presented by their patient group is not at risk of criminal prosecution for divulging. It's unclear whether this has an effect on their self-reports or not, but it does point up how difficult it would be to implement such a program in a country like the U.S. which has mandatory reporting laws. I don't know whether I find that encouraging or discouraging.

[robvalue]

Once it's accepted not every paedophile is going to grab and rape every kid, just like not every gay you see is desperate to bum you, we'll be able to help each other.

Wehn you become a parent, you'll understand the problem with this post, Rob. Helping my child avoid molestation was more important than helping any number of pedophiles -- because as a parent, I could not afford to think otherwise. As a parent, my responsibility was, and is, to my child.

While I sure want to understand the problems that turn people into pedophiles, I sure in hell am not going to take the chance that he might "grab and rape" my child.

Sure, I get this. But what do you mean by "take the chance"? I don't get what people are proposing. I understand the desire to protect, but of course you protect your child from everyone. What exactly makes this any different? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm genuinely interested.

I wouldn't take the chance of anyone grabbing my child, no matter who they are. I'm not proposing otherwise.

[Losty]

We need, as a society, a way of properly supporting them rather than forcing them to keep silent. Ironically I think there is more of a threat when they have to keep quiet.

Treatment, not "support".

Why not both? I can imagine they'd be in need of some emotional support. Maybe we are thinking of the word support differently. Maybe not. Obviously we wouldn't support their desires. But I personally would be supportive of any pedophile who wanted to get help and treatment. That's definitely an idea I can get behind.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Of course I will want any child abuser put away in prison for as long as possible, as much as anyone else. But the problem is with assuming all/most paedophiles will be child abusers. Since we have so little data, it's a ridiculous conclusion to draw. As has been said, if we only know about abusers that get caught, and have no idea how many non-abusers there are, it's a self-selecting sample.

It's not self-selecting. It's selected by the efficiency of law-enforcement, the willingness and/or ability of victims to report the crime, and the ability of prosecutors to prove the incident happened.

I wouldn't call that conclusion "ridiculous". "Unsupported"? Sure. "Erring on the side of caution"? Just as surely.

Because you cannot, and do not, know if and when any particular pedophile will give into his drive.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Treatment, not "support".

Why not both? I can imagine they'd be in need of some emotional support. Maybe we are thinking of the word support differently. Maybe not. Obviously we wouldn't support their desires. But I personally would be supportive of any pedophile who wanted to get help and treatment. That's definitely an idea I can get behind.

I would definitely support treatment, if it could be shown to be efficacious.

[robvalue]

We only know about offenders. No one is coming forward to say they are a paedophile, so we have literally no idea how many are out there. So we would be concluding there are next to zero paedophiles in the world keeping quiet and not abusing. I don't find that reasonable, I find it highly improbable.

[robvalue]

Of course they need support, because damn near everyone hates them. So much so that they can't tell hardly anyone.

[Angrboda]

Once it's accepted not every paedophile is going to grab and rape every kid, just like not every gay you see is desperate to bum you, we'll be able to help each other.

Wehn you become a parent, you'll understand the problem with this post, Rob. Helping my child avoid molestation was more important than helping any number of pedophiles -- because as a parent, I could not afford to think otherwise. As a parent, my responsibility was, and is, to my child.

While I sure want to understand the problems that turn people into pedophiles, I sure in hell am not going to take the chance that he might "grab and rape" my child.

"About 60% of children who are sexually abused are abused by the people the family trusts." ~ CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE STATISTICS: Perpetrators