Interesting thoughts. I agree that (in theory) the simple sexual attraction to children is not in and of itself a crime and should not be judged as one. However, how many of us are able to resist our sexual urges of a more acceptable nature? A pedophile by nature is going to act on their urges one way or another, whether it is by actually assaulting a child or by assaulting by proxy through kiddy porn.
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Here's something else to consider, in the vein of paedophilia being comparable to hetero/homosexuality:
Take some fictional homosexual male. He may be scared or intimidated by opinions of homosexuality around him. In New Zealand at least, most young men use the term 'gay' freely and frequently as an insult. This guy is afraid to come out to his friends or family, and as a consequence keeps any relationships he pursues secret, and always feels judged, or inferior, or less of a man, and so on.
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Personally, I am pretty uncomfortable with this analogy. There is a stigma that the gay community is more likely to spawn pedophiles than the straight community, and that's somehting that just isn't backed up by the facts. Regardless of the strides that Western society has made in the past decades, it's still there.
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If these kind of trials ace someone who is a homosexual, something which is reasonably accepted in modern society, what does it feel like to be a paedophile, where you cant pursue any relationships at all? If you were to 'come out' to anyone, you could easily be reported to the police!
Opinions?
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I understand the point you're trying to make here Lak, but it's pretty clear to be that it's a little myopic. Prepubescent children have little or no power to refuse sexual contact, and most do not understand it. It's clearly a power issue, and there is no doubt that children involved in pedophilia are victims of it. Anytime that a sexual relationship involves a predator and a victim (including adult rape), there's something criminal about it, and the perpetrators need to be punished.