Understanding and Addressing Adult Sexual Attraction to Children: A Study of Paedophiles in Contemporary Society

234 Pages·2009·1.68 MB·English

by  Sarah D. Goode

Understanding and Addressing Adult
Sexual Attraction to Children
Paedophiles exist and we must develop ways of living with this fact while
ensuringthatchildrenarekeptsafe.Thisground-breakingbookdemystifiesthe
field of adult sexual attraction to children, countering the emotionality sur-
roundingthetopicofpaedophiliainthepopularmediabycarefulpresentation
ofresearchdataandinterviewmaterial.Addressinghowwecanworktogether
to reduce sexual offending in this population, Understanding and Addressing
Adult SexualAttractiontoChildrenbridgesthegulfinunderstandingbetween
those who want to protect children and those who feel sexual attraction to
children – and recognises that they are sometimes the same people.
Sarah D. Goode provides an overview of the topic by defining the term
‘paedophile’ and discussing how many adults there may be in the general
population who find themselves sexually attracted to children. She looks at
how the Internet has acted as an enabler, with an explosion of child porno-
graphy and ‘pro-paedophile’ websites. Drawing on data from a sample of
fifty-six self-defined paedophiles living in the community, she explores themes
including self-identity, the place offantasy and the forms of support available
to paedophiles. Her research highlights the scale of debate within the ‘online
paedophile community’ about issues such as the morality of sexual contact
with children and encouragement to maintain a law-abiding lifestyle.

Throughout, she draws careful distinctions between sexual attraction to chil-
dren and sexual contact with children. The book concludes with a valuable
discussion on how adult sexual contact harms children and examples of a
range of initiativeswhich work to protect children and prevent offending.
Suitableforallprofessionalswhoworkwithchildrenorsexualoffenders,this
bookgivesclearguidanceonwhatoneneedstoknowanddotoensurechildren
are kept safe. It will also be of interest to students studying child protection,
paedophilia and child sexual abuse within other social science disiplines.
Sarah D. Goode, a qualified occupational therapist, holds a doctorate in
sociology from the University of Warwick and is Director of the Research
and Policy Centre for the Study of Faith and Well-being in Communities
and a Senior Lecturer in Social Care and in Community Development at the
University of Winchester, UK.

Understanding and Addressing
Adult Sexual Attraction
to Children
A study of paedophiles in contemporary society
Sarah D. Goode
Firstpublished2010
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,AbingdonOX144RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
byRoutledge
270MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
©2010SarahD.Goode
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orin
anyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwriting
fromthepublishers.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationData
Goode,Sarah.
Understandingandaddressin gadultsexualattractiontochildren:astudy
ofpaedophilesincontemporarysociety/SarahGoode.
p.cm.
1.Pedophilia.2.Childsexualabuse.I.Title.
HQ71.G6562009
362.2’7–dc22
2009003517
ISBN 0-203-87374-2 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0-415-44625-2 (hbk)
ISBN10:0-415-44626-0(pbk)
ISBN10:0-203-87374-2(ebk)
ISBN13:978-0-415-44625-9(hbk)
ISBN13:978-0-415-44626-6(pbk)
ISBN13:978-0-203-87374-8(ebk)
Contents
List of tables viii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements and dedication xi
1 Understanding paedophiles 1
Introduction 1
I David 5
II Definitions of paedophilia 9
IIIHow many paedophiles are there? 14
2 Paedophiles online 21
Introduction 21
I Spiders in the Darknet 22
II Child pornography 25
IIIOnline advocacy and online attack 30
3 Setting up the Minor-Attracted Adults Daily Lives Project 38

Introduction 38
I The origins of the MAA Daily Lives Research Project 40
II The background research climate 43
IIIEthical and methodological challenges of the project 48
4 Running the Minor-Attracted Adults Daily Lives Project 57
Introduction 57
I How the research project was conducted 58
II The responses of the ‘paedophile community’ to the project 62
vi Contents
5 Findings from the Minor-Attracted Adults Daily Lives Research
Project 68
Introduction 68
I Basic demographic details of sample 70
II Experiences related to sexuality 75
6 Constructing and negotiating identities 84
Introduction 84
I Respondents’ views on sex with adults 86
II Sources which shaped respondents’ views of themselves 89
IIIThe significance of websites 94
7 Attraction and fantasies 97
Introduction 97
I ‘What is it about this age group that most attracts you?’ 98
II Romantic and sexual fantasies 103
IIIThe relationship between fantasy and real life 107
8 Experiences of support 115
Introduction 115
I Minimal support 118
II Limited support 120
IIIPaedophile-based support 122
IV Non-paedophile-based support 125
V Wider support 129
VI The relationship between support and ‘contact’ 131
9 Debate and dissent within the online paedophile community 134
Introduction 134
I Aspects of the online paedophile community 135
II Attitudes to child pornography 140
IIIThe impact on real life of using ‘visual imagery’ 153
10 What stops adults preventing the abuse of children? 156
Introduction 156
I Why don’t adults report abuse? The case study of Fred 157
II Why don’t abusers seek help? The case study of Ian 161
Contents vii
11 Addressing adult sexual attraction to children 167
Introduction 167
I Children, sexuality and sexual abuse 170
II New initiatives in addressing adult sexual attraction to
children 182
IIIKeeping children safe 187
Appendices 195
References 208
Index 217
Tables
5.1 Countries involved 71
5.2 Age of respondents 72
5.3 Lengthof time respondents had beensexuallyattracted to children 74
5.4 Figures for reported earliest sexual experience 78
6.1 Views on idea of sex with adults 89
8.1 Categories of support 117
Preface
Iamafairlyordinarymiddle-agedEnglishwoman,acommon-or-garden-variety
heterosexual, and a mother. I am also an academic involved in health and
well-being. When I began the project that has resulted in this book I was
angryabout the fact that children continue to be sexuallyabused and nothing
seems able to prevent this. I wanted to understandwhy. I was confusedbythe
images of paedophiles presented by the media and I wanted to understand
more. I hated paedophiles as much as anyone. I thought that if I ever met a
paedophile I would want to kill them (even though I’m generally a pretty
tolerant, pacifist Christian sort of person). But at the same time I could see
that the images of deviant, cunning monsters being portrayed by the news
storiesandcharityappealsjustcouldnotbecorrect.Itdidn’tringtrue.People
aren’t like that.So I wrote abrief exploratory paper about it for a conference.
And someone got in touch with me by email and began writing to me about
his thoughts and experiences. To my great surprise, I found myself commu-
nicating with a person from ‘the other side of the fence’, a man sexually
attracted to young children. Gradually I began to correspond with other
paedophiles. I arranged to meet a large group to interviewthem. This did not
happen but instead I circulated a questionnaire and over fifty paedophiles
answered it. I also met and talked to other paedophiles, only one of whom

was in prison: the others were ordinary citizens getting on with their daily
lives. At the same time I talked with many professionals and researchers and
explored everything I could find about paedophilia, especially from a social
science perspective. This book is the result.
This book is not a portrayal of how evil paedophiles are, nor is it a por-
trayalofhownicepaedophilesare.Youareinvited tojudgeforyourself,from
their own words (from published academic writing, informal online contribu-
tions, and direct quotations from research) and come to your own opinion.
This book is intended to provide you with information which is not widely
accessible elsewhere. The aim of my work is to draw together a huge range of
material from many different disciplines to form a picture of what adult
sexual attraction to children means within the context of our culture and our
understandingsof sexuality.This isnot an easybook to read,although Ihave
tried to make it readable. The topic of adult sexual contact with children is a