So here's the danger of groups like VirPed... They say, "Well, let's just get pedophiles labeled as mentally ill! Then there will be no moral judgment against us, since we can't help being sick." Virtuous Pedophiles (virped.org) never said anything like that at all. We always maintained that we had full responsibility for our actions and did not seek any leniency if a pedophile abused a child. We didn't feel like fighting a huge battle over the question of mental illness, and still don't. Everything important is in the consequences that do or do not follow. When the DSM-5 recognized pedophilia as a sexual orientation (and then "interest") we were happy to agree with them. I argue in my blog (celibatepedos.blogspot.com) repeatedly that pedophiles should be assumed to cover the same range as other people on every characteristic except the one that defines them: attraction to children. |