Opinion Columnist
Abuse comes in many forms, none of them being any better than the last. For most of them, there are varying methods of treatment. Abuses causes great harm, research is readily funded by a great number of institutions, corporations, and independent philanthropists.
Last week, the public radio show This American Life dealt with a very serious form of abuse, the sexual abuse of children. The show’s 522nd episode, “Tarred and Feathered,” featured a segment titled “Help Wanted,” which included an interview with a 19-year-old male with self-diagnosed pedophilic disorder. The segment shows just how little is known about pedophilic disorder, and how research has been hindered due to the stigma attached it.
Pedophilic disorder is a mental illness with no known treatment. The people that have this illness have very few options when it comes to getting help. More alarming still are the common misconceptions about pedophilic disorder.
According to Luke Malone, the reporter who contributed the story to This American Life, a research team at the Center for Mental Health and Addiction, led by James Cantor, made some rather startling discoveries in regard to pedophilia as a mental illness in 2008. Cantor’s team performed several tests, including MRI brain scans on 65 different pedophiles. The results suggest that pedophilia is, not unlike sexual orientation, a matter of brain wiring. In other words, a pedophile, upon seeing a child, triggers the same response in the brain that heterosexual males experience when seeing an attractive female.
The stigma surrounding pedophilia exists due to very set attitudes and stereotypes. Much of it lies in the idea that pedophiles actively choose to find children attractive with advancing age. Many with pedophilic disorder, however, are younger people, between the ages of 16 and 22. Malone spoke with Professor Elizabeth Letourneau, a top researcher on sexual abuse against children regarding pedophilic disorder. She stated it is “a gigantic black hole in science,” and that despite the danger posed by pedophilic disorder, little research has been done to find treatment for this mental illness. Letourneau, the director of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse at Johns Hopkins University, has advocated for research funding. Letourneau has consequently been labeled a pedophile sympathizer.
Many with pedophilic disorder are younger men, like Adam, whose name and voice This American Life altered to protect his identity. Adam stated that he began downloading child porn at the age of fourteen. While not all with pedophilic disorder are teenagers, the fact that many are is alarming. Most teenagers are just barely qualified to operate automobiles. These teenagers, though, are dealing with much more than driving tests and acne.
“Imagine being a teenager and being told never to act on your sexual feelings ever for the rest of your life,” Malone said.
However, not all child molesters meet the criteria to be diagnosed with pedophilic disorder. Likewise, not all diagnosed with pedophilic disorder act on the attraction to children.
Nearly one third of those with pedophilic disorder are left-handed or ambidextrous. Hand dominance is a genetic trait, which further supports the idea that pedophilic disorder is, in fact, a condition subtracted at birth, not a condition of choice or perversion. The majority of people with pedophilic disorder are also celibate. While there is an inherent attraction, simply having pedophilic disorder does not necessarily make that person a child molester.
Many with pedophilic disorder, however, do act on the sexual attraction to children. Child molestation carries a rather lengthy and serious penalty, and many states have mandatory minimum sentences, meaning that regardless of the severity of the offense, a conviction may mean several years in a federal correction facility. Upon completing sentences for the crime of molestation, the convicted also face another sentence: the societal sentence of a registered sex offender.
Pedophilic disorder carries a stigma, as does registering as a sex offender. The connotation of being an active molester is often associated with the sex offender label. Should a person with pedophilic disorder be convicted for one act of molestation, the societal sentence may prove to be unmanageable, with new obstacles such as harassment from the community and media.
Typically, once a convict has served out a sentence for a crime, that convict is considered rehabilitated. This cannot be said for sex offenders, as they are never truly relieved of the offense committed. Sex offenders are not forgiven by society in the same manner that criminals such as the physically abusive, arsonists, or even drug dealers. Each of these crimes can harm children just as effectively as molestation.
As with most mental disorders, counseling is available, but with considerable risk in seeking it. Nearly all psychiatrists are subject to mandatory reporting laws. Confidentiality between therapist and patient may be broken should the patient mention thoughts of harming children, whether the patient has an abusive history or not. Those with pedophilic disorder are in a particularly vulnerable situation given that while the need for therapy is apparent, the risk of seeking it is most likely too great.
Many psychiatrists are given the privilege of professional judgment, but the psychiatrist also runs a risk. Should a patient with pedophilic disorder ever molest a child, that therapist would lose not only their practice, but be subject to the full measure of the law. With the risk on both sides of the mental health spectrum, treatment is not a realistic option for this very real mental illness.
Therapy has been very beneficial in treating my mental illness and addiction—I remember exactly how unmanageable my life was before I received treatment. I cannot understand how it is that a society could deny treatment of any mental illness, yet freely cast out and punish those afflicted. Imagine if the same standard were applied to other mental illnesses, such as manic depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. These are serious mental health issues that have been extensively researched, with several different treatment options. Why, given the value that society puts on children, is pedophilic disorder considered undeserving of serious consideration? I cannot find an acceptable answer.
It is clear that there are certain illnesses that society has deemed more acceptable for treatment than others. While I firmly believe that the stigma of pedophilic disorder must be erased, I also think that the larger problem may lie in attitudes about mental health in general. The lack of current and credible research shows a willing ignorance that could prove more dangerous than the issue itself.
mmacdona@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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