Preventing pedophilia before it happens
We could reduce child sexual abuse by treating people before they act
The violence has already occurred. Friends and family have been affected. Why not try to identify those with pedophilia before they offend? There’s huge potential to reduce the cost to society. Anton Schweighofer, Vancouver psychologist
Pedophilia is such a stigmatized condition that few feel able to seek out treatment with a private therapist. ANTON SCH WEIGH OF ER, Vancouver psychologist
Spotlight. Mystic River. Broadchurch. The Hunt. Eyes Wide Shut. The Girl Next Door. Deliver us From Evil. Pretty Baby. Accused. Happiness. The Boys of St. Vincent. The People Next Door. Game of Thrones. The Celebration. The Woodsman.
These are some of the hundreds of movies and TV series that have revolved around the disturbing subject of child sexual abuse.
Until the 1960s, the molestation of minors was a reality that existed largely under the radar.
But since then, the West has become painfully aware of this form of sexual abuse through waves of news reports, including this week’s media storm over the resignation of Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos amid a backlash over comments he made that appeared to condone sex with 13-year-olds.
It turns out what we don’t know about pedophilia could hurt us as a society. We may be missing opportunities to prevent further abuse.
Researchers generally report that roughly 20 per cent of females and 10 per cent of males worldwide have at some time experienced sexual contact between an adult and a child.
While some who have such experiences go on to enjoy vibrant lives, others succumb to mental and physical problems, addiction, revictimization, criminality and disrupted relationships.
The alarmed and disgusted public, meanwhile, understandably focuses on severely punishing those who have or might molest children.
Most are not aware of key developments that could lead to better ways to reduce these sex crimes. Four facts: 1. A tiny fraction of people appear hardwired for what psychologists call “pedophilic interests.”
2. Most people with sustained pedophilic desires feel deeply ashamed.
3. Child-abuse rates are significantly declining. Recidivism is low.
4. A cutting-edge approach has been developed that can prevent people with pedophilic impulses from ever abusing.
We need a fuller picture of the disorder of pedophilia if we hope to stop abuse.
After graduating with a PhD from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver psychologist Anton Schweighofer became involved in forensic work with Correctional Services Canada, which led to him developing a subspecialty in the prevention of sexual violence, focusing on northern B.C.
In the past 20 years Schweighofer has become well aware of the one per cent of the population, mostly males, with pedophilic interests, which means they feel intense sexual attraction over an extended period to pre-pubescent and (some therapists add) pubescent youngsters.
The latest research, includ- ing by psychologist James Cantor of the University of Toronto, strongly suggests the brains of some people are hardwired for pedophilia, Schweighofer says. Some “soft” biological signs of it include shortness and left-handedness.
Most realize in their teens and twenties they are strongly sexually attracted to children, he says. The relatively small proportion who offend usually do so in their younger years, most often with someone they know.
There is almost no chance of males in their fifties or sixties acting out a pedophilic impulse. The “dirty old man” label is misleading.
And most pedophilic individuals feel humiliation, explains Schweighofer.
“They say they’ve got this interest in minors. And they’re so ashamed. And they want to deal with it so it doesn’t go anywhere.”
Contrary to the impression left by the mass media, the rates of child sexual abuse have also been declining.
Various forms of child abuse and molestation have plummeted by 40 to 70 per cent in Canada and the U.S. since the early 1990s, report American researchers David Finkelhor and Lisa Jones.
Why? Schweighofer joins Finkelhor and Jones in saying multiple factors explain the drop — including increased prosecution, therapy programs for offenders, general awareness, victim treatment, enhanced background checks, the “wanted child” effect and demographic shifts.
In general, Schweighofer says it’s important to recognize “not all people who molest children are pedophiles and not all pedophilic individuals go on to abuse children.”
However, he says people with pedophilia are somewhat more likely to reoffend. The rate of recidivism is about 21 per cent, for instance, for pedophilic indi- viduals who abuse minors of the same sex.
The people with pedophilic interests most likely to offend are those who have antisocial tendencies or other sexually deviant interests.
Those least likely to abuse children, Schweighofer says, are those who are also sexually attracted to adults, who have “decent intimacy skills” and an ability to control impulses.
Working in correctional settings and around the province, Schweighofer is among those periodically asked to provide mandatory treatment to pedophiles who have been incarcerated.
Their treatment regimen, which typically involves the proven methods of cognitive-behavioural therapy and sometimes medication, is provided at no cost.
And it’s effective, as suggested by the relatively low recidivism stats.
So why, Schweighofer asks, do most Canadian and U.S. governments wait until pedophiles abuse a child to provide free therapy?
“The violence has already occurred. Friends and family have been affected. Why not try to identify those with pedophilia before they offend? There’s huge potential to reduce the cost to society.”
In two decades of practice, Schweighofer says only one or two people with pedophilic interests who have not offended have come to him on their own.
“Pedophilia is such a stigmatized condition that few feel able to seek out treatment with a private therapist, or if they want it, it is cost prohibitive. A psychologist with expertise is expensive.”
Europeans are trying some innovative approaches, however.
One notable prevention effort out of Berlin is called Dunkelfeld, which literally translates as “dark field.”
The Dunkelfeld Prevention Project has posted notices in public spaces in Europe to draw the attention of people sexually attracted to minors.
“Do you like children more than you/they like?” asks one Dunkelfeld sign.
“You are not guilty because of your sexual desire, but you are responsible for your sexual behaviour. There is help! Don’t become an offender!’ says other Dunkelfeld material.
The Dunkelfeld campaign has attracted upwards of a thousand people for treatment, mostly those who admit they are sexually attracted to minors but have never acted on it.
(The legalities are complex, however. German privacy laws protect those with pedophilic interests from being automatically reported to authorities. But reporting rules vary elsewhere. In some U.S. jurisdictions the justice system is so hyper-vigilant that someone with pedophilic interests would never admit them to a therapist for the justified fear of being sent to jail.)
Versions of the Dunkelfeld Prevention Project are now being tried with success in Britain, the Netherlands and Belgium.
And a self-help variation also exists in North America through a website called the Virtuous Pedophile, whose members are people with pedophilic interests who are committed to never acting on them.
Schweighofer is convinced Germany’s Dunkelfeld Prevention Project is a model for Canada. “We’ve had enough of being tough on crime,” he says. “We need to be smart on crime.”
Of all the movies and TV series built on sexual abuse, one that stands out for Schweighofer is The Woodsman. In it Kevin Bacon plays a man who returns to his hometown after being convicted of molesting a child.
Bacon’s character realistically conveys the confusion and guilt of someone who knows he can shatter innocent lives. The Woodsman makes it clear, Schweighofer said, the condition of pedophilia “is not something you would wish on your worst enemy.”
With better understanding of this difficult subject, society could do more to prevent those harbouring pedophilic interests from ever abusing.