Is pedophilia a sexual preference or a mental disorder? Are all pedophiles destined to molest children? Is it possible to stop a pedophile before he ever offends?
These are the questions asked, and attempted to answer, in this documentary by Steve Humphries (available on Netflix). I want to make clear that this documentary does not seek to raise sympathy for the predators who have hurt children. Instead, Mr. Humphries focuses on the effects of child sex abuse on the victims and to raise awareness that some men, who find themselves sexually aroused by children, do not act on that arousal. He also looks at how pedophiles have been treated by British society and what other countries, like Germany, are doing to help the men who seek it.
Should pedophiles be held accountable for molesting children? Yes. That point is never debated. But what about the men who face the temptation without giving in? What about the men who know it is wrong and want help so that they never give in? That is the point of this documentary.
Most of the time, society can only react to abuse after it has happened and come to light. But to truly protect children, we need to identify the causes of abuse and encourage potential abusers to get help before someone is hurt.
These are the questions asked, and attempted to answer, in this documentary by Steve Humphries (available on Netflix). I want to make clear that this documentary does not seek to raise sympathy for the predators who have hurt children. Instead, Mr. Humphries focuses on the effects of child sex abuse on the victims and to raise awareness that some men, who find themselves sexually aroused by children, do not act on that arousal. He also looks at how pedophiles have been treated by British society and what other countries, like Germany, are doing to help the men who seek it.
Should pedophiles be held accountable for molesting children? Yes. That point is never debated. But what about the men who face the temptation without giving in? What about the men who know it is wrong and want help so that they never give in? That is the point of this documentary.
Most of the time, society can only react to abuse after it has happened and come to light. But to truly protect children, we need to identify the causes of abuse and encourage potential abusers to get help before someone is hurt.
Melody K. Coehoorn
