Not every pedophile is a rapist.

[Excited Penguin]

I can't put myself in the mind of someone who has an urge to molest children. Such an urge does seem like a serious mental problem and we should do everything we can to identify it in people and treat it anyway we can if we are to prevent as much molestation as possible.

I agree with both sides of the debate in this thread, after some consideration. I wish I had more to go on but I both despise and want to help individuals who have a desire to molest children. That is for sure. I want to do everything possible to make them reveal themselves or to otherwise be able to identify them, but other than that I still feel a repulsion towards them, as I do towards psychopaths who have a desire to kill.

All that being said. I think there's some nuance to be observed here. I suspect there might be a difference between being attracted to children to whatever degree and having an actual desire to have sex with them/rape them. I might be wrong, but if that difference is real, however subtle it might appear to be, I think it's hugely important. I would liken it to a lot of other feelings. What is the difference between being so overcome with anger at someone that you wish their actual death and feel like you wouldn't hesitate to do it yourself in the moment even, if you could get away with it, and a psychopath who wants to kill people dispassionately and all the time? There's an important one.

Now, then, I can imagine someone with otherwise normal sexual tastes (geared towards adults) thinking certain children are attractive without also feeling any urge or desire to have sex with them. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but if we are to call people pedophiles for that kind of thing, then that's one type of pedophile I have no problem with at all, and wouldn't, in theory, trust less my child with than I would anyone else. The problem, however, seems to lie in distinguishing between this kind of attraction and the kind you intend/wish/actively desire to sexually act out on. When we will be able to read that in a person's mind with a machine, I'm sure we'll accept that only one of those needs to be absolutely "treated".

I don't think I'm making any sense. This is a really difficult subject to discuss. The stigma applied to it makes it somehow difficult to respond any way but emotionally to it and have that be acceptable in the eyes of others. But like Rob said, that's not really helping anyone. So I'm glad we're discussing it. We may not be scientists or law makers here, but I still think discussion helps.

The thought of a child being molested is awful and horrible. It makes me sick to think about. We have to talk rationally about the issue though, if there's even a tiny chance that would prevent even one such act from taking place in the future.