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A '''pedophile''' or '''paedophile''' (non-US spelling) is an adult or teenager who is of or above the age of 16 (although a rejected change in the DSM would have changed this to 18) who is sexually attracted to young [[children]] below the age of puberty that are at least five years younger than the adult or teen (generally 13 years old or younger, though onset of puberty may vary and the proposal would also change this to all children below 15 <ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/448575/pedophilia</ref>). A pedophile who acts out his or her wishes in the form of viewing child [[pornography]] or molesting youngsters is committing a [[crime]] and breaking virtually all moral codes; in particular, the [[Bible]] explicitly forbids it.<ref>[http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Gal&c=5&t=NIV#16 Galatians 5:16-21 (NIV)]</ref> It is closely linked to [[immorality]] and [[sociopathy]]. The term pedophilia is sometimes incorrectly used to mean sexual attraction by adults and teens to anyone below the age of consent, for example British psychologist Hans Eysenck in '''The Causes and Cures of Criminality''' defined it as people 16 and over having sex with people 15 and younger (in the UK age of consent is 16), but in fact this is an incorrect use of the term and is regrettable because the difference hebephilic (adults attracted to adolescents 12-15) and pedophilic offenders is vast, and treatment is different.  

A '''pedophile''' or '''paedophile''' (non-US spelling) is an adult or teenager who is of or above the age of 16 (although a rejected change in the DSM would have changed this to 18) who is sexually attracted to young [[children]] below the age of puberty that are at least five years younger than the adult or teen (generally 13 years old or younger, though onset of puberty may vary and the proposal would also change this to all children below 15 <ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/448575/pedophilia</ref>). A pedophile who acts out his or her wishes in the form of viewing child [[pornography]] or molesting youngsters is committing a [[crime]] and breaking virtually all moral codes; in particular, the [[Bible]] explicitly forbids it.<ref>[http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Gal&c=5&t=NIV#16 Galatians 5:16-21 (NIV)]</ref> It is closely linked to [[immorality]] and [[sociopathy]]. The term pedophilia is sometimes incorrectly used to mean sexual attraction by adults and teens to anyone below the age of consent, for example British psychologist Hans Eysenck in '''The Causes and Cures of Criminality''' defined it as people 16 and over having sex with people 15 and younger (in the UK age of consent is 16), but in fact this is an incorrect use of the term and is regrettable because the difference hebephilic (adults attracted to adolescents 12-15) and pedophilic offenders is vast, and treatment is different.  

Pedophilia is a mental illness according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The best estimates are that between 1% and 5% of men are pedophiles. 30% of pedophiles are left-handed or ambidextrous, triple the general rate. Pedophiles are nearly an inch shorter on average than non-pedophiles and lag behind the average IQ by 10 points.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/14/local/la-me-pedophiles-20130115|title=Many researchers taking a different view of pedophilia|date=14 January 2013|author=Zarembo, Alan|publisher=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> It may be possible to identify potential pedophiles using [[magnetic resonance imaging]] of the [[brain]] as they tend to have less [[white matter]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2220818/Paedophiles-spotted-cured-MRI-scans-detect-brain-activity-low-IQs.html|title=Paedophiles could be 'spotted and cured' through MRI scans to detect brain abnormalities and low IQs|publisher=Daily Mail Reporter|date=20 October 2012}}</ref>

Pedophilia is a mental illness according to the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]]''. The best estimates are that between 1% and 5% of men are pedophiles. 30% of pedophiles are left-handed or ambidextrous, triple the general rate. Pedophiles are nearly an inch shorter on average than non-pedophiles and lag behind the average IQ by 10 points.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/14/local/la-me-pedophiles-20130115|title=Many researchers taking a different view of pedophilia|date=14 January 2013|author=Zarembo, Alan|publisher=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> It may be possible to identify potential pedophiles using [[magnetic resonance imaging]] of the [[brain]] as they tend to have less [[white matter]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2220818/Paedophiles-spotted-cured-MRI-scans-detect-brain-activity-low-IQs.html|title=Paedophiles could be 'spotted and cured' through MRI scans to detect brain abnormalities and low IQs|publisher=Daily Mail Reporter|date=20 October 2012}}</ref> There is no cure for pedophilia; even [[castration]] does not completely eliminate a pedophile's sexual interest in children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Expert-says-castration-no-cure-for-pedophilia-1913426.php|title=Expert says castration no cure for pedophilia|author=Crowe, Robert|date=10 May 2005|publisher=Houston Chronicle}}</ref>

 

There is some dispute about the difference (if any) between "pedophilia" and "pedosexuality". [[Urban Dictionary]] describes "pedosexual" as a "non-existent word invented by [[pedophile activist]]s as part of their ongoing effort to legitimize and legalize the sexual exploitation of children."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pedosexual&defid=1011956|title=pedosexual|author=Ed|publisher=Urban Dictionary|date=21 January 2005}}</ref> [[Wiktionary]] describes "pedosexual" as identical to "pedophile".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pedosexual|title=pedosexual|author=Wiktionary}}</ref> dont-offend.org, a website of the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine, directed by Klaus M. Beier,<ref>{{cite book|isbn=978-1461444206|date=6 November 2012|title=Sexual Medicine in Clinical Practice|author=Beier, Klaus M. and Loewit, Kurt K.|pages=xv}}</ref> states that pedosexuality "as a clinical term denotes a sexual behaviour towards children and is the equivalent to ‘child sexual abuse’. The expressions ‘pedosexuality’ and ‘pedophilia’ are related but are not identical and cannot be used synonymously."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dont-offend.org/story/88/3888.html|title=FAQ|author=dont-offend.org|publisher=Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine}}</ref>

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