Tuesday, February 9, 2010

A terrible manifestation

Further to the last posting I've found this bit on paedophilia. It seems that most in the medical profession see this as a mental disorder. However, they have no cure for it. Paedophiles are on a treadmill for life. If they get an urge to offend and they get caught they go to prison with no prospects of a cure as they already know there is none. What a life! Literally. Who would want to be a paedophile?

If a cure is not to be found then it must be the fate of a few men (and women, it seems) to live with a psychiatric pathology, knowing that your brain triggers impulses that the vast majority of the rest of humanity finds repellent. You are at the mercy of lynchings at worst and misplaced sympathy at best.

All I can think of currently is that there must be a better way of trying to find a cure. Because the very presence of paedophilia in our midst seems to bring out a desire in many just to "kill off" these predatory people.


From the Italian TV Station RAI

What is paedophilia?
The World Health Organisation includes paedophilia in the list of sexual disturbances. It is a psychiatric pathology which is part of the so-called sexual deviations, meaning disorders which involve an attraction for something unusual, like inanimate objects, or in this case, children.

Treatments: an open discussion
Two treatments have been examined for curing paedophiles: the first is aimed at correcting the hormonal profile, commonly called "chemical castration", the second involves treating the psychiatric disorder.

The idea behind correcting the hormonal profile is to reduce testosterone (male hormone) or at least its effects with some drugs (primarily cyproterone). But to have a lasting effect the individual must be forced to take this substance for a long time and this may lead to irreversible physical injuries.

From a psychiatric viewpoint, paedophilia is manifested as an obsession and emotional disorder. The paedophile is an obsessive because he has the repeated idea of finding a child and using this child emotionally and sexually, an idea which he is unable to control. There are drugs which are capable of relieving this repetitive thought mechanism, but this type of treatment is not seen as a permanent solution. To treat the emotional disorder, often caused by childhood traumas, psychotherapy is used.

The debate over drug treatment to correct the hormonal profile and on psychiatric treatments continues and is very heated. To date it has not led to short term solutions.

Prevention and control: advice from associations
The best way to fight paedophilia continues to be prevention.

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