What is pederasty or pedophilia?

It is a deviation of sexual desire, in which adults feel physical and erotic attraction for children and, in many cases, this impulse triggers child sexual abuse. Those who have this distortion ensure that it is necessary to establish a difference between pedophilia and pederasty, because delimiting the characteristics of the problem allows a broader understanding of the phenomenon.

Pedophilia:

“It is a sexual inclination, it is something we are born with, essentially; it does not change over time and is as central to our being as any other sexual orientation.” In pedophilia, you do not get to the sexual act, you do not abuse a minor. This is how a man who claims to be a pedophile describes it in an interview for the BBC.

Pederasty:

It is a disposition to fulfill the pedophilic desires that an adult may feel towards a minor. In all cases, this pathology triggers child sexual abuse.

Both perspectives present an underlying problem because the feelings of care, respect, love, and tenderness associated with childhood are diverted into sexual interactions that hinder and damage relationships between children and adults. A child is not safe with an adult who understands them as a sexual being to whom they want access.

Can a child abuser be rehabilitated?

Pedophiles are aware of the damage they can cause, and therefore try to deal with their pathology by entering rehabilitation therapies, but the effectiveness of such treatments has not yet been proven. In 2015 in Germany, a program that ensured total confidentiality for adults who were attracted to children was created. One of the people who participated stated that the hardest thing he had to do was to accept his pedophilia and expose that side of him that he had left hidden for years. This man’s testimony can be found in a BBC article on pedophilia.

After recognizing that pederasts and pedophiles are those who feel erotic desire towards a minor, but only pederasts sexually abuse children, we can establish the common characteristics that these characters have, in order to be socially more alert and protect children.

Profile of a pederast or child abuser

• Of the sexual criminals, they are the most socially integrated.
• They generally work in areas of care and interaction with minors, such as teachers, coaches, priests, parents, relatives, etc.
• They are trustworthy and friendly.
• They have their own trait of immaturity, so they establish greater closeness with the children, gain their trust, but also know how to instill fear.

There are two types of pedophiles: the occasional, and the constant one.

Occasional pederasts: They have a routine and have sexual intercourse with other adults, but the impulse and attraction towards children is there, and they have committed sexual abuse of a minor from time to time.
Constant pederasts: They dedicate their life to abuse minors, they maintain an organized lifestyle to have access to children, they know where they live, how they behave, and their social interaction is less structured with adults.

Initially, abusers show themselves seductive with children, then they frighten them and finally, they make them feel guilty for having consented. Both types of pederasts are very dangerous since they are found in every social group and know how to gain access to children. They create a language of secrets and fear in which children feel cornered and cannot run away.

Adults must be extremely alert with children and identify if any of the following signs appear.

How to identify that a child is a pederast’s victim?

• If a minor talks frequently with an adult.
• If the adult seeks to be closer to the minor.
• If the adult gives the minor constant gifts, without apparent cause.
• If the minor suddenly has money out of nowhere.
• If the minor’s attitude is getting hostile and aggressive.
• If the minor starts to have bruises without apparent cause.

Abuse is a problem we can eradicate together. From the Yo Digo No Más movement, we raise our voice to protect children and prevent them from suffering from this silent pandemic.

You can be part of the change, join this movement on behalf of yourself or hundreds of victims who have not been able to find their voice to speak out against this scourge.

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