Is a Paedophile a man who is attracted to under age girls or is he only a Paedophile if he has sex with one?

Answer 1

The word comes from the Greek paidophilia (παιδοφιλια)—pais (παις, "child") and philia (φιλια, "love, friendship"). Paidophilia was coined by Greek poets as a substitute for "paiderastia" (pederasty).[2]

The term paedophilia erotica was coined in 1886 by the Vienna psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing in his writing Psychopathia Sexualis.[3] He gave the following characteristics:

the sexual interest is toward children, either prepubescent or at the beginning of puberty
the sexual interest is the primary one, that is, exclusively or mainly toward children
the sexual interest remains over time
Strictly speaking, this definition would include many adolescents and prepubescents, for whom such an interest might be normal; thus, some experts add the criterion that the interest be toward children at least five years younger than the subject. However, according to some experts, a diagnosis of pedophilia can also be appropriate for a post-pubescent adolescent.[4] See entry for sexologist Dr. John Money.

Use of the term pedophile to describe all child sexual offenders is seen as problematic by some people[5][6][7], especially when viewed from a medical standpoint, as the majority of sex crimes against children are perpetrated by situational offenders rather than people sexually preferring prepubertal children.[8][9][10] Nevertheless, some researchers, such as Howard E. Barbaree [11], have endorsed the use of actions as a sole criterion for the diagnosis of pedophilia as a means of taxonomic simplification, rebuking the American Psychiatric Association's standards as "unsatisfactory".

Some individuals[12][13], such as Dr. Fred S. Berlin[14][15], assert sexual attraction to children to be a sexual orientation in itself. Dan Markussen argues that "sexual orientation is defined as a lifelong attraction, which pedophilia obviously is."[16] This is at odds with the current popular acceptance of the term sexual orientation as meaning attraction to the opposite sex, the same sex, or both.

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Diagnosis
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (F65.4) defines pedophilia as "a sexual preference for children, boys or girls or both, usually of prepubertal or early pubertal age." [17]

The APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition, Text Revision gives the following as its "Diagnostic criteria for 302.2 Pedophilia"[18] :

Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years or younger).
The person has acted on these urges, or the sexual urges or fantasies cause marked distress or interpersonal difficulty.
The person is at least age 16 years and at least 5 years older than the child or children in Criterion A.
Note: Do not include an individual in late adolescence involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with a 12 or 13-year-old.
The actual boundaries between childhood and adolescence may vary in individual cases and are difficult to define in rigid terms of age. The World Health Organization, for instance, defines adolescence as the period of life between 10 and 19 years of age[19], though it is most often defined as the period of life between the ages of 13 and 18.

The APA diagnostic criteria do not require actual sexual activity with a child. The diagnosis can therefore be made based on the presence of fantasies or sexual urges alone, provided the subject meets the remaining criteria.

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Extent of occurrence
The extent to which pedophilia occurs is not known with any certainty. Some studies have concluded that at least a quarter of all adult men may have some feelings of sexual arousal in connection with children.[20] A study by Hall et al. of Kent State University, for example, found that 32.5% of their sample — consisting of eighty adult males — exhibited sexual arousal to heterosexual pedophilic stimuli that equaled or exceeded their arousal to the adult stimuli.[21] Freund et al. (1972) remarked that "with males who have no deviant object preferences, clearly positive sexual reactions occur to [nude] 6- to 8-year old female children."[22]

In 1989 Briere and Runtz conducted a study on 193 male undergraduate students concerning pedophilia. Of the sample, 21% acknowledged sexual attraction to some small children; 9% reported sexual fantasies involving children; 5% admitted masturbating to these fantasies; and 7% conceded some probability of actually having sex with a child if they could avoid detection and punishment. The authors also noted that "given the probable social undesirability of such admissions, [one could] hypothesize that the actual rates ... were even higher."[23]

Feierman (1990) predicted that 7-10% of men are sexually attracted to prepubescent boys.[7]

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Occurrence in child sex offenders
The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.

A perpetrator of child sexual abuse is, despite all medical definitions, commonly assumed to be a pedophile, and referred to as such; however, there may be other motivations for the crime[11] (such as stress, marital problems, or the unavailability of an adult partner[24]), much as adult rape can have non-sexual reasons. Thus, child sexual abuse alone may or may not be an indicator that its perpetrator is a pedophile; most perpetrators of it are in fact not primarily interested in children.[25]

Those who have committed sexual crimes against children, but do not meet the normal diagnosis criteria for pedophilia, are referred to as situational, opportunistic, or regressed offenders, whereas offenders primarily attracted toward children are called structured, preferential, or fixated pedophiles, as their orientation is fixed by the structure of their personality. It is estimated that only 2 to 10 percent of child sexual abuse perpetrators meet the regular criteria for pedophilia. (Kinsey-Report, Lautmann, Brongersma, Groth).

As noted by Abel, Mittleman, and Becker[26] (1985) and Ward et al. (1995), there are generally large characteristical distinctions between the two types of offenders. Situational offenders tend to offend at times of stress; have a later onset of offending; have fewer, often familial victims; and have a general preference for adult partners. Pedophilic offenders, however, often start offending at an early age; often have a large number of victims who are frequently extrafamilial; are more appetitively driven to offend; and have values or beliefs that strongly support an offense lifestyle.

Most cases of father-daughter incest are believed to involve fathers who are situational offenders, rather than pedophiles. [27]

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Treatment
A number of proposed treatment techniques for pedophilia have been developed. Many regard pedophilia as highly resistant to psychological interference and have dismissed as ineffective most "reparative strategies."[28] Others, such as Dr. Fred Berlin, believe pedophilia can "indeed be successfully treated," if only the medical community would give it more attention.[14] The reported success rate of modern "reparative" treatment on pedophiles is very low.[28] A study by the Council on Scientific Affairs found that the success rate of aversion therapy was parallel to that of homosexual reparative therapy.[29]

Treatment strategies for pedophilia include a "12 step support system", parallel to addiction therapy, though such a system is generally regarded as the least efficacious method of treatment. Anti-androgenic medications such as Depo Provera may be used to lower testosterone levels, and are often used in conjunction with other approaches.

More favoured is cognitive-behavioral therapy, in which the subject is taught to associate "pedophilic behavior" with various unpleasantries. Usually, this is done by telling the pedophile to fantasize of "deviant sexual activity", and then, once aroused, they are given instructions to imagine the assumed legal and social consequences of such an action. Other programs induce an association of illegal behavior with pain by means of more controversial aversion therapy, in which the pedophile is sent an electric shock while fantasizing. [30] These methods are rarely used on pedophiles who have not offended.

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Related terms
Ephebophilia, also known as hebephilia, is the condition of being sexually attracted primarily or exclusively to adolescents. These terms are used in contrast with pedophilia; however pedophilia is sometimes used more broadly in the western world to describe both ephebophilia and attraction to younger children, that is, any person younger than the legal age of consent. Ephebophilia is a term of recent coinage, and does not have broad academic acceptance as constituting a paraphilia.
Pederasty, generally refers to an attraction in males toward adolescent males.
Lolita syndrome is sometimes used to refer to attraction to adolescent females. Shortened to Lolicon, it refers to manga-style pornography depicting neotenous female characters.
Shotacon is manga-style pornography depicting neotenous male characters.
Nepiophilia, also called infantophilia, is the attraction to toddlers and infants (usually ages 0-3). Some researchers have suggested a distinction between pedophilia and nepiophilia, especially for same-sex pedophilia (see for example Bernard 1975, 1982; Lautmann 1994), as it is unusual for pedophiles to prefer toddlers. According to Bernard 1975; Howells 1981; Bernard 1982; McConaghy 1993; Lautmann 1994, same-sex pedophilia more prevalently blends in with ephebophilia and general social affection for minors, while heterosexual pedophilia only emphasizes sexual activities and more prevalently blends in with nepiophilia.
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US Law
Pedophilia is itself neither a crime nor a legal term.[31] It does not describe behavior, but a psychological state.[7] It is, generally speaking, not illegal to be sexually attracted to a child, and not all pedophiles sexually molest children.[6][32][33]

Sexual activity between adults and prepubescent children is almost always considered child sexual abuse, and it is illegal in most countries. The matter can be complicated, however, by varying laws concerning youth marriage, emancipation of minors, and the age of consent, all of which can affect the legality of child sex in certain jurisdictions. Intercourse is typically allowed at the ages of 16 to 18, but can range as high as 21 or as low as 12 in the United States. Laws in other countries vary widely.

Child pornography, child prostitution, and recruiting or meeting children for sex using the Internet may also be illegal depending on the jurisdiction. Some people with a history of sexual activity with children may be prevented, by court order or by legislation, from associating with children or being employed in a position that may bring them into contact with children, or from owning mobile phones or computers, having the ability to use the Internet or owning childrens' toys.

On March 7, 2005, the 2-year-old son of a self-professed pedophile in Indiana, USA was seized by local Child Protective Services, alleging that the home was an unsuitable environment for the child, in part because the father had identified himself as a pedophile on a radio show (he also had a prior conviction for possession of child pornography).[34][35]

The 2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (H.R.4472) authorizes the indefinite 'involuntary commitment' of "sexually dangerous persons" who the State determines are "dangerous to others because of a mental illness, abnormality, or disorder that creates a risk that the individual will engage in sexually violent conduct or child molestation." A "sexually dangerous person" is defined as a "a person who has engaged or attempted to engage in sexually violent conduct or child molestation and who is sexually dangerous to others."[36]

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Pedophile activism
Main article: Pedophile activism
The pedophile activism movement, referred to by some supporters as the childlove movement, is a social movement that encompasses a wide variety of views, but generally advocates one or more of the following: social acceptance of adults' romantic or sexual attraction to children; social acceptance of adults' sexual activity with children; and changes in institutions of concern to pedophiles, such as changing age-of-consent laws and mental illness classifications. The movement is extremely controversial and has made little progress toward these goals. The most high profile pedophile activism group is NAMBLA. NAMBLA advocates the legality of sexual relationships between older men and young boys.

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

Now I dont know how many times Ive been cruisin and I see somethin fine only to get closer and realize that the fine girls I spotted are14-16 years old. So am I a pedofile because of what I was thinking? F.uck no I'm only 19 so they may not be "legal" but the fact of the matter is its only a 3 or 4 year difference. My mom was 16 when she got married to my dad who at the time was 20. Does that make my dad a pedofile? f.uck no. I think its only wrong if you are attracted to someone who is hasn't hit puberty yet, When women develope they become attractive, and a guy can't do anything about what enters his mind when he sees God's most beautiful creation. He can however do something about how he reacts to that thought, and its the actions that make a person a pedofile.

Answer 4

Paedophiles don't actually have to have sex with a child, just be interested in doing so, seeing someone do so or seeing children have sex with each other. A person can be a paedophile if all they have are pictures on their computer, or have fantasies about underage children. Note that the definition of 'underage' varies worldwide and within ethnic groups

Answer 5

A paedophile (congratulations on spelling it right - pay no attention to these idiots) is any adult who is sexually attracted to children.

It can be a man attracted to underage girls or boys or a women attracted to underage boys or girls.

Answer 6

Pedophilia, paedophilia, or pædophilia (see spelling differences), is the paraphilia of being sexually attracted primarily or exclusively to pre-pubescent children. Persons with this attraction are called pedophiles. In the United States and some other countries, the term pedophile is incorrectly used also to denote significantly older adults who are sexually attracted to adolescents[1], as well as those who considered sexually abusing a children.

Answer 7

Pedophile just means anyone sexually attracted to minors (boys or girls, doesn't matter). Pedophiles do not have to have sex with a minor to be a pedophile. However, it's only a crime when the pedophile crosses that line and begins talking to, touching, or in any way interacting with a child inappropriately. (By talking to, I mean trying to pressure or persuade the child into sex acts with words.) Other types of inappropriate behavior that don't involve touching would be exposing himself to the child, or having the child view pornography with him.

Answer 8

Pedophile means -- pedo=children, phile=love.

It is not a love of underage girls, it is an attraction to children.

It is not just about sex, its about sexual and other attraction to children.

Sex with a child is a different word, at least for attraction to boys its pederast.

Answer 9

A pedophile is either a man or woman who is turned on by children. (either same or opposite sex) They don't necessarily have to act on their urges - just having the urges makes them a pedophile in my book.

And pedophiles are NOT always the creepy guy lurking in the bushes - they're teachers, religious leaders, scout leaders, sports coaches, Good Humor people, etc. The ones who act on it are the ones who take jobs that will get them close to kids.

Answer 10

Yes he is a paedophile if he is attracted to underage girls, ie looking at porn pics of them. If he has sex with an underage girl, he is a criminal.

Answer 11

A pedophile is attracted to children-male or female.I'm concerned with why you ask this question.If you are underage and someone has molested you,please tell someone about it.