Ok, so this is kind of a sickening topic, but I thought it was worth covering because there was a comment in the joke thread about not making jokes about pedophilia and another comment about are we protecting paedophiles now.



We'll cut to the chase, read a news article about a paedophile and usually the comments are along the lines of death isn't punishment enough, as far as crimes are concerned, this is pretty much universally the 'lowest of the low.'



I've often wondered though, paedophiles are obviously mentally ill. I think that goes without saying. Many people are sexually aroused by varying acts, imagery etc, everyone has a kink to some degree. Obviously, most of us are able to exercise restraint, but that would be someone who is obviously mentally fit, someone who isn't, well that's a different story.



The thing I wonder though, if someone knows they have a sexual attraction to children, or feels impulsed around them, what does someone like that actually do to get help? When you have depression, anxiety, ocd, bipolar tendencies etc, you can tell friends, family, doctors and any number of other people to seek help and no one is going to judge you for it. If however you found yourself aroused by children, what can that person actually do? Admitting that to anyone but a professional is pretty much a guaranteed way to get ostricised at best and potentially much worse depending on who was to find out. Even in the circumstance of seeking a professional, while you have privacy disclosure laws it's a professionals job to report anyone who is a potential harm to themselves or others, if you're a paedophile, it's a pretty safe bet that conversation isn't staying between you and the professional, it's going to get disclosed and potentially acted upon.



So realistically,what does one do? I watch a Louis Theraux documentary recently where he spent time in an institution where sex offenders were incarcerated but in a special facility aimed at rehabilitation away from offenders of other crimes, it was a facility specifically for sex offenders. Apart from being convicted sex offenders, one of the things that stood out about pretty much every person he met incarcerated there, they were victims of sexual abuse as children themselves. It was like some sort of cycle. Now obviously not all victims of sexual abuse become sex offenders themselves, but it's also fair to say, not everyone who has inclinations to be sex offenders and in particular paedophiles will actually act out on their fantasies or impulses, but in an age where people are more aware of mental illnesses and how powerful they can be, dominating someones life, it seems like this is one area where it's likely someone who speaks out or seeks help they are likely to have their life torn apart for even bringing the subject up as opposed to trying to surpress it themselves and in that sense it would be like telling someone who has issues with depression or anxiety to suck it up and deal with it yourself, which it seems is essentially, about the only option on the table for a potential paedophile.



So I'm curious to hear what people have to actually say about the matter. Could you ever trust someone who admits to having sexual fantasies with children? Do you believe they should have the right to live their lives the same as anyone else with a mental disorder if they've never actually acted out on those impulses? If a friend told you they had those impulses, how would you react?