Instructions
One of many issues in this unit is child abuse. We say we want to protect our children; however, we continue to fail them at times. Reflect on the readings and the effects of child abuse. Recall news stories that have reported abuse within your own community. Write a reflection paper that addresses the following questions.
What are your thoughts on whether you could ever cure a pedophile?
Does this mean that we should lock the child molesters and pedophiles up forever?
Should convicted child molesters and pedophiles be required to inform all social partners of their crimes?
What kind of lasting effects do you think this victimization would have on the child?
In your opinion, how can victim impact statements affect the offender’s sentencing?
Your paper must be at least three pages in length. There are no references required for this assignment. However, if outside sources are used, please adhere to APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. APA formatting, however, is not necessary.
Pedophilia
Student Name
Institute:
Pedophilia
According to statistics, over three hundred thousand children between the ages of two to four suffer from child abuse. The children are mistreated in the hands of their parents and guardians. Child abuse involves long-term physical, mental, and social torture. According to reports, children who are victims of child abuse end up becoming violent or creating a multi-generational impact. Child abuse is a global problem where most researchers have tried to understand the cause and effect. The paper is a discussion of child abuse, specifically pedophilia.
Recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, children reported a severe beating from parents, nursing injuries, such as broken arms and bruised faces. The cases have been reported from Massachusetts, where the rate of stress due to unemployment, financial security, and divorce has led to increased violence rates. Most young girls have been reported of early pregnancies, where most are victims of rape and paedophiliac (Houtepen, Sijtsema, and Bogaerts, 2016).
Pedophilia is a psychological disorder where individuals have a constant exclusive sexual attraction with minors or pubescent’s. Pedophilia is an offense punishable by law and a form of child abuse. Pedophiles are not vocal about their issues; most individuals hate their actions and desires and do not seek counseling or therapy, hence receiving help becomes challenging (Cantor, 2018). I think involuntary attraction towards adolescents is not a wrongful act as long as they stay disconnected from the behavior. Pedophilia being a psychological disorder, can be cured through psychological intervention (Houtepen, Sijtsema, and Bogaerts, 2016). There are three types of pedophiles, those that restrict their sexual desires for conducting sexual contact with children, those who sexually abuse children, and those that wish they could ask for help and reduce the urge. Pedophilia may be developed from childhood or maybe as a result of behavioral manifestation (Houtepen, Sijtsema, and Bogaerts, 2016). For instance, individuals hooked to children pornography and individuals with a history of childhood sexual assault.
Pedophilia is more of a preference disorder that has been contributed by sexual dysfunction, age, and quality of life. I think understanding the cause and treatment of pedophilia is challenging, especially where the case is a preference, psychological, sexual orientation disorder, neuropsychological, and neurobiological (Cantor, 2018). To understand and cure pedophiles requires a deep insight into some of the theories that explain the cause of pedophilia, for instance, the frontal lobe theory, the temporal lobe theory, and neurobiological theory. It is challenging to come up with a cure for pedophiles since many factors cause it (Houtepen, Sijtsema, and Bogaerts, 2016). Pedophilia is a complex disorder caused by prenatal androgen disorder, heritability epigenetics events, functional brain alteration, neurotransmitters, and structural brain alteration.
According to research, pedophilia is caused by neurobiological and neurodevelopmental etiology, where the preference disorder is hereditary, learned through deviant sexual behaviors, such as watching children pornography (Cantor, 2018). The cure is based on an individual specific contributing factor, such as treatment of androgen rates, stabilizing serotonergic inhibitions, therapy due to the effect of epigenetic life events, and treatment on structural and functional brain alteration.
No, we should not lock child molesters and child pedophilia forever because the individuals require help. Child molesters and pedophiles should be Helped instead of being incarcerated because the weird behavior causes and treatment is still undergoing research. The criminal justice system should work with mental health facilities and medical hospitals to identify the course and seek treatment, such as suppressing testosterone (Houtepen, Sijtsema, and Bogaerts, 2016). Also, the criminals being influenced by life events should be counseled and put in treatment facilities. On the other hand, criminals should be engaged with other productive activities, such as vocational work, to distract their minds from sexual desires. Nevertheless, pedophiles and child molesters should be put away from interacting with children or in environments with children.
The stigma behind children molesters and pedophiles is high, mostly where society has not accepted the nature of pedophiles. It is hard for the community to understand and cope with pedophilia and child molestation since it is a child abuse mode (Houtepen, Sijtsema, and Bogaerts, 2016). Pedophiles and molesters should not inform all social partners about their issues to avoid stigma and judgment, leading to mental problems, self-harm, and suicide. Instead, pedophiles and child molesters should inform medical experts and counselors who could follow up and offer therapy.
A victimized child can undergo trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, which can have long-term impacts affecting education, social relationships, and physical health (Montes, 2018). The victimized child may experience bodily injury, especially when a pedophile has committed a sexual act that can affect the child’s psychology for many years (Cantor, 2018). Children’s moral judgment and perception develop over time, leading to hate, anger, guilt, and grief. The immediate psychological effects may have a long-time impact on the child, such as anger towards the opposite sex, fear of the opposite sex to the extent of hating, and isolating themselves from their fathers and brothers (Montes, 2018). Also, the child may develop inappropriate sexual disorder behaviors, heterosexuality, and psychological distress. The victimization affects a child’s emotional regulation process, developmental process, and coping mechanism (Houtepen, Sijtsema, and Bogaerts, 2016). For instance, the child may experience hyperarousal in adulthood, flashbacks or re-experiencing symptoms, and avoidance.
Cases of child abuse are very critical and taken seriously by the law. A victim’s statement could affect the offender’s sentencing where, according to the criminal sentencing laws of pedophiles, the mandate of treatment of the offender (MPA) the priority is. Sentencing laws are different from states to states, wherein in some states, clinical examination is considered while in others, the offenders are sentenced for many years (Montes, 2018). According to the United States, The Adam wash act states that offenders should be registered to protect the public once offenders are reported. The nature of the crime determines the offender’s sentences. For instance, if the pedophile has sexual contact with the child, the offender can be sentenced to a long period in jail compared to a pedophile with intention.
References
Cantor, J. M. (2018). Can pedophiles change?. Current sexual health reports, 10(4), 203-206.
Houtepen, J. A., Sijtsema, J. J., & Bogaerts, S. (2016). Being sexually attracted to minors: Sexual development, coping with forbidden feelings, and relieving sexual arousal in self-identified pedophiles. Journal of sex & marital therapy, 42(1), 48-69.
Montes, D. R. (2018). SOCIAL WORK PERCEPTIONS OF PEDOPHILES: OPENING THE DIALOGUE.
