Our approach to paedophilia and sexual offences isn´t working- responses

Last week I had an article on paedophilia (or pedophilia, if you are on the other side of the pond) published in Salon, a digital magazine based in the USA. Since then, I have received many emails from readers who felt that the article resonated with them. Some confided heartbreaking stories of abuse and thanked me for my conclusions, while others admitted to feeling attracted to children and were angry that my article did not treat paedophilia as a sexual orientation like any other. With that in mind, I´d like to clarify a few things.

Not all paedophiles are predatory and not all sex offenders are paedophiles. To be attracted to children does not necessarily mean you are a danger to society- but unlike being gay, straight or bisexual, it does mean that you cannot fulfill your sexual urges without breaking the law and damaging a child, whether physically or mentally.

The keyword here is consent. My personal belief is that the age of consent should be lowered: it seems ridiculous that a 17 year-old could end up on the sex offenders´register for a perfectly natural ´roll in the hay´ with his 15 year-old girlfriend, for example. But we cannot apply that argument to a pre-pubescent child, and they must be protected at any cost.

Boyfriends and Beatings: the grim world of sexual exploitation in the UK

An award-winning article from May 2004, sadly as relevant today as it was then….

A year ago this month, The Sexual Offences Act came into force, strengthening legislation on crimes such as pimping, grooming and buying sex. With new measures to protect vulnerable young people from sexual exploitation, has this made any difference to the thousands of children in the UK abused through prostitution?

In a toilet block in Thornaby, Teesside, someone has drawn a chart on the wall.

“Stockton Road”, the first column reads. “Rent Boys and OAPs. 8/10.” Underneath is the warning: “CCTV in doorway- be careful.”

Other people have scrawled personal advertisements: “School boys wanted aged 12-16 for sex fun”, or “If you want sex with a sexy boy called Mark call…”

These messages, a practice known as ‘gridding’, tell punters what’s available, when and where: “Lads here weekdays or on Preston Park toilets Saturday 11am-1.30pm. Take your pick.”

This is the grim underworld of child prostitution, where girls as young as eight and boys as young as six are being abused through sexual exploitation.