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Pedophilia: Causes And Typologies
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Pedophilia: Causes and Typologies
Perhaps no single act causes such strong emotions as the act of child sexual abuse. Child molesters can not even find refuge in prisons where rapists and murderers are commonplace. These offenders are shunned in every aspect of our society, yet there is no consensus as to the causes of this behavior. Sexual abuse of children is not new, and has not always been socially taboo. The ancient Greeks and Romans used children for sexual gratification(Langevin, 1983). In Greece, it was commonplace for adolescent males to be forced into sexual relationships with mature males. This behavior was normal and not objected to by the child's parents nor the Greek government(Langevin, 1983). The Romans encouraged adolescent boys and girls not to protest being sold into prostitution. The Roman government even went so far as to declare a public holiday honoring young prostitutes(Kahr, 1991). Sex with children in the modern era is alive and well, the power of an older person is so great that their young victims often never tell of the horrors that they have endured. There is also a pedophile enhancement movement, with confessed pedophiles insisting that their behavior is not wrong or immoral. Organizations dedicated to the social acceptance of sex with children are not new, yet have had a large upstart in membership since the early 1970's(Charon, 1979). Because of the extreme sensitivity of the subject, research in this field is quite underdevelo...
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