It is commonly acknowledged that sexual abuse of children is a grave and pervasive problem and that child molesters are predators who compulsively repeat their crimes and have little hope of cure. Yet as recently as twenty years ago many experts viewed the problem far less seriously, declaring that molestation was a very rare offense and that molesters were merely confused individuals unlikely to repeat their offenses. Over the past century, opinion has fluctuated between these radically different perspectives. This timely book traces shifting social responses to adult sexual contacts with children, whether this involves molestation by strangers or incestuous acts by family members. The book explores how and why concern about the sexual offender has fluctuated in North America since the late nineteenth century.

Jenkins' book traces how such problems were reformulated in the course of the decade, and how they came to be seen as major menaces to society. It discusses the motivations of those who knowingly or otherwise disseminated misleading and exaggerated claims, and seeks to explain why these claims gained such widespread credence. Jenkins suggests that these newly defined "problems" aroused concern because they focused upon broadly-held fears about changes in British society and national identity. In addition, the alleged threats to children provided a weapon for various political groups in their campaigns: for conservatives opposed to perceived moral "permissiveness," and also for radical feminists seeking to promote an ideological agenda of their own.