By Ben Davis
Yes, I also had to make sure it wasn’t a fake headline. The New York Times really did publish an article titled, “Pedophilia: A Disorder, Not a Crime.”
In the 2014 op-ed piece, it’s argued that 1 percent of the male population find themselves sexually attracted to prepubescent children. So, if there are 159,410,000 males in the United States, that would mean there are approximately 1,594,100 male pedophiles throughout the nation.
The piece argues that there are harmful misconceptions when it comes to pedophilia. According to the author, a distinction should be made between child molestation as an act and pedophilia as a status. “One can live with pedophilia,” the author says, “and not act on it.”
Another apparent misconception is that pedophilia is a choice. Baby, they were ‘born that way.’ The ‘disorder’, the author says, may have neurological origins, because for instance, “Men with pedophilia are three times more likely to be left-handed or ambidextrous, a finding that strongly suggests a neurological cause.”
Of course, the solution is always to end the stigma associated with pedophilia based on these “misconceptions,” and allow them to safely come forward and seek treatment to help manage urges and avoid committing crimes.
However, the author laments the fact that when it comes to public policies that might help pedophiles find treatment, the law omits pedophiles from protection.
The article says: “The Americans With Disabilities Acts of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against otherwise qualified individuals with mental disabilities, in areas such as employment, education and medical care. Congress, however, explicitly excluded pedophilia from protection under these two crucial laws.”
For the author, “it’s time to revisit these categorical exclusions. Without legal protection, a pedophile cannot risk seeking treatment or disclosing his status to anyone for support. He could lose his job, and future job prospects, if he is seen at a group-therapy session, asks for a reasonable accommodation to take medication or see a psychiatrist, or requests a limit in his interaction with children.
“Isolating individuals from appropriate employment and treatment only increases their risk of committing a crime,” the piece claimed.
The rationale here is that children are being sexually assaulted because the stigma associated with pedophilia prevents pedophiles from seeking help. Therefore, it’s suggested that we put an end to the stigma by either viewing pedophilia as a disorder, or as others have argued, a sexual orientation.
But it’s hard to overstate the implications of defining pedophilia in such terms, as Alex Newman of the Freedom Project noted.
‘Sexual orientation’ is increasingly becoming a legally protected category. In many parts, it’s prohibited to discriminate on the basis of ‘sexual orientation’. So, what would that mean for schools, daycares, or children’s hospitals when a person with a ‘sexual orientation’ toward pedophilia applies for a job?
What we’re witnessing in our culture is the sidelining of God and the downward spiral of “rationalised” debauchery that follows. With the Bible effectively rendered irrelevant in society, and “sin” deemed an outdated concept, organisations, academics and teachers are feeling emboldened to operate outside the restraints of an objective moral standard, where absurdity reigns supreme.
