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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.
==Diagnosis and treatment==
==Diagnosis and treatment==
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>
Pedophilia is a mental illness according to the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]]''. Although some survey and [[penile plethysmograph]] results suggest that double-digit percentages of the adult male population may be capable of being sexually aroused by children,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Is Pedophilia a Mental Disorder?|author=Green, Richard|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|volume=31|number=6|date=December 2002|pages=467-471|url=http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1020699013309}}</ref> the best estimates are that only between 1% and 5% of men are full-blown 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> Some evidence suggests that pedophilia results from cross-wiring in which the stimuli that usually evoke nurturing and protective reactions in adults instead evokes sexual reactions in pedophiles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/12/22/is_pedophilia_a_sexual_orientation.html|title=Is pedophilia a sexual orientation?|author=Kane, Laura|date=22 December 2013|publisher=The Star}}</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>
==Claims that pedophilia is a sexual orientation==
Pedophilia is sometimes described as a [[sexual orientation]] by researchers who claim it has a similar age of onset, correlations with sexual and romantic behavior, and stability over time as homosexuality. Michael C. Seto proposes a two-axis "modular person preferences system" in which [[asexual]] persons would be placed at the [[Origin (mathematics)|origin]] and the X and Y axes would range from infant to senior and from male to female, respectively. Other axes could be added for body shape, body size, and other characteristics of interest. Seto concludes that "[a]ccepting that pedophilia is a sexual orientation akin to heterosexuality or homosexuality, rather than a preference that is chosen or somehow learned, may" create a culture in which pedophiles feel safer seeking clinical and assist "efforts to better understand this sexual orientation and thereby prevent child sexual exploitation."<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-011-9882-6|title=Is Pedophilia a Sexual Orientation?|author=Seto, Michael C.|date=February 2012|volume=41|issue=21|pages=231-236|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior}}</ref> In 2013, the [[American Psychiatric Association]] issued a statement clarifying that it does not regard pedophilia as a sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/31/apa-correct-manual-clarification-pedophilia-not-se/|title=APA to correct manual: Pedophilia is not a ‘sexual orientation’|author=Wetzstein, Cheryl|publisher=The Washington Times|date=31 October 2013}}</ref>
==Connection to leftist and gay rights movements==
The [[Family Research Council]] notes that "the evidence indicates that disproportionate numbers of gay men seek adolescent males or boys as sexual partners."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.frc.org/?i=IS02E3|title=Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse|date=2 July 2002|author=Family Research Council}}</ref> According to political scientist Harris Mirkin, "Though pedophile organizations were originally a part of the gay/lesbian coalition, gay organizations distance themselves from pedophile organizations in the same way as feminist leaders sought to separate themselves from lesbians."<ref>{{cite journal|author=Mirkin, Harris|date=1999|title=The Pattern of Sexual Politics|journal=Journal of Homosexuality|volume=37|number=2|pages=1-24|doi=10.1300/J082v37n02_01}}</ref> As part of this distancing, some gay rights groups have encouraged the terminology "male-male molestation" be used in place of "homosexual molestation".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html|title=Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation|author=Herek, Gregory|publisher=University of California}}</ref>
However, there have occasionally been signs of a backlash within the movement against crackdowns on pedophilia activists. In 1996, after the North American Man Boy Love Association and two similar European groups were expelled from the International Gay and Lesbian Alliance in order to satisfy the [[United Nations]] requirements for granting consultative status, intense internal pressure from ILGA's member organizations nonetheless impelled ILGA to drop a three-year-old requirement that its member groups sign a letter stating they do not condone pedophilia. More than half of ILGA's 450 members refused to sign an anti-pedophile pledge.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Jenkinson, Michael|journal=Alberta Report|title=Back into the bedrooms of the nation|volume=23|issue=40|pages=35|date=16 September 1996|pages=35|issn=0225-0519}}</ref>
In 2013, [[Rush Limbaugh]] warned, "Don't Pooh-Pooh the Left's Push to Normalize Pedophilia".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2013/01/07/don_t_pooh_pooh_the_left_s_push_to_normalize_pedophilia|title=Don't Pooh-Pooh the Left's Push to Normalize Pedophilia|date=7 January 2013|author=Limbaugh, Rush|publisher=The Rush Limbaugh Show}}</ref> In 2013, the [[German Green Party]]'s most prominent politician disavowed his past support for legalizing sex with children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324492604579083123751192430|title=Painful Past Plagues German Greens|author=Troianovski, Anton|date=18 September 2013|publisher=Wall Street Journal}}</ref> The Greens nonetheless did poorly in the September 2013 election.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thechristians.com/?q=node/822|title=The brief, unhappy greening of German pedophilia|date=7 November 2013|author=Byfield, Link|publisher=TheChristians.com}}</ref>
=="Pedosexual"==
=="Pedosexual"==
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>
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> 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>
== External links ==
== External links ==
*[http://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_eng/text.html#1 Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland.]
*[http://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_eng/text.html#1 Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland.]
==Notes==
==Notes==