2. Abstract In life there are times when you hear or watch the news and are utterly shocked and dismayed by what you hear or see. I sometimes struggle to understand how and why a person would cause irreversible damage to someone else by violating them by sexually abusing them. It is even more difficult for me to grasp how the person can be a pedophile and say that they loved the person(s) they abused. What I want to research and write about is whether or not a pedophile can be successfully rehabilitated. I have read that there are cases in which rehabilitation has been successful. However, I have not put a great deal of research into this subject thus far so this paper will give me that opportunity. I am interested in educating myself about whether or not they can be rehabilitated. Perhaps I will learn to have sympathy toward a pedophile and be able to assist in rehabilitating them.
3. Literature Findings “By diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, a pedophile is an individual who fantasizes about, is sexually aroused by, or experiences sexual urges toward prepubescent children (generally <13 years) for a period of at least 6 months” (Hall & Hall, 2007). The pedophile is usually 16 years old and must be at least 5 years older than the victim to be considered a pedophile. The pedophile can be homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual; typically if the pedophile is heterosexual they prefer younger girls around the ages of 8-10 and if the pedophile is homosexual they prefer boys that are a little older.
4. Some modes of rehabilitation for pedophiles are physical castration, chemical castration and cognitive-behavioral therapy in the group setting and individual therapy. However, according to the research which concurs with each other is that the true rate of recidivism is unknown because the studies rely on self-reports of recidivism. So, it is not totally clear as to what is the most effective mode of treatment for the pedophile is, and if they are able to be rehabilitated entirely. The articles are strong in the basic information on the pedophile such as the general age range of the pedophile which appears to be mostly middle aged men, what offences they have committed such as what type of sexual relations they had with the child and the general age of the victims. But what the research lacks is why these people find themselves attracted to children and how to effectively stop sexual abuse from happening. One article states that pedophiles sometimes commit sexual abuse because the child was available and they were less fearful of rejection from a child than an adult.
5. What I would like to know through further research is if the pedophile receives treatment than can or should they be deemed rehabilitated? Based on some of the research thus far, a lot of pedophiles lie and manipulate the parole boards to be released and then they go on to recidivate. I would also like to know if it is for the greater good of society if we monitor the pedophile via ankle bracelet for the rest of their lives to ensure they do not hurt a child again.
6. Conclusions During the course of my research I have come across a few prevailing arguments that seem to make the most sense to me and that is, “one school of treatment specialists considers confrontational group therapy to be the most effective way to rehabilitate sex offenders. The experts argue that the first step in treatment is to break denial and minimization” (Muster, 1992). However, all the research indicates that there is no “cure for sexual feelings toward children nor promises an explanation of how sexual interest in children develops” (Gillies, Hashmall, Hilton, & Webster, 1992). Preventive therapy helps as well as group and individual therapy after an act of abuse has occurred to aid in reducing the chances of acting on these urges or to reduce the likelihood of recidivism, but no form of therapy can truly take away the sexual feelings toward children.
7. There has been significant progress in research about pedophiles in the past 30 years however, we still do not have enough information. As mentioned above, doctors still do not know why or how a person becomes a pedophile. We need to conduct more research in this area to help prevent child abuse from occurring due to pedophiles sexual attractions and urges. I would like to know if it is biological in nature, if it is a product of environment, or a combination of the two . It is reported that approximately 38 million children in the USA are victims of sexual abuse at the hands of a pedophile. This research is important because we are talking about millions of lives that are affected because pedophiles do serious irreversible harm to children and their families. We need to come up with a more effective solution to keep our kids safe. Megan’s Law was one solution but unless you are researching who moves into your neighborhood constantly the law is not as effective as it should be. There is also the problem of other people coming in and out of your neighborhood on a constant basis that we do not who they are such as mailmen/women or garbage men/women. We need to find out what makes a pedophiles brain tick in order to save our children.
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