Discussing "I, Pedophile" – A Documentary on Non-Offending Pedophiles

Payal Nagpal

I, Pedophile is a Canadian documentary film that explores “the world of pedophiles before they offend” – men who are attracted to children but are determined not to act on those desires (Knelman, 2016). The documentary introduces two organisations: Virtuous Pedophiles – a web-based support group for non-offending pedophiles, and Prevention Project Dunkelfeld – a German facility that works on providing therapy and mental health assistance to pedophiles so that they don’t offend, thereby asserting that they are making the world a safer place. The documentary shows the stigma and ostracisation these individuals face, despite never having molested, harassed or assaulted children, and attempts to spread awareness to both decrease stigma surrounding these people, and give them support. However, it does also show people’s reactions to pedophilia, and the outrage and fear associated with having pedophiles, “out in the open, with free access to children,” as one concerned Floridian parent in the documentary puts it.

Dr. James Cantor, a clinical psychologist specialising in hypersexuality and atypical sexual interests, uses the documentary to establish that confidential, accessible and stigma-free help should be available for pedophiles just like they are for other mentally ill individuals. If pedophiles are given access to resources, and non-offending pedophiles not maligned by communities, communities would be safer for children. I, Pedophile claims that spreading awareness and reducing stigma around pedophilia as a mental illness is for the greater good.

Pedophilic disorder is listed in the DSM-5, and I, Pedophile advocates for society treating it like the other disorders listed in the manual. Dr. Cantor’s research at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health shows that pedophiles cannot help their sexual urges: he discovered a set of abnormalities of high incidence in pedophiles, including a large difference in white matter compared to non-pedophiles. This indicated that pedophilia develops during the early developmental periods of one’s life.

The more controversial claim that some clinicians make, that the documentary only partly touches upon, is that pedophilia is a sexual orientation – precisely for the reason that it a) emerges during puberty and then remains over time, and b) it is self-discovered and not chosen. While this somewhat fits into the narrative of pedophilia being a mental illness, it raises other questions. On one hand, it reinforces the idea that pedophilia is not a choice and should be approached without stigma, just like homosexuality. However, there are counter arguments that pedophilia cannot be conflated with a “non-standard” sexual orientation.

The APA declassified homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973, but pedophilia remains as an  illness in the DSM (Derscher, 2008). Virtual Pedophiles and Project Dunkelfeld both look at pedophilia as something that can be changed – they assert that even in cases where pedophilia may not be able to be cured, pedophiles can learnt to deal with their urges such that they are dormant. However, according to sources like Dr. Douglas Haldeman’s paper “Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy in Gays and Lesbians: A Scientific Examination” (that are also consistent with popular opinion in Psychology), non-heterosexuals cannot be changed. ‘Untreated’ pedophiles pose an active threat to society, unlike LGB and other queer individuals – they can be classified as violent under the WHO’s definition of violence as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation.” – that is one distinguishing factor between ‘untreated’ pedophiles and ‘untreated’ non-heterosexuals. This distinction is scientific and psychological, but it should also be considered in a wider political context.

Homosexuals and bisexuals are still considered to be threats to society in many circles, incorrectly so. I believe that if pedophilia is added to the list of sexual orientations, it would impact how the rest of the LGBTQ+ community is viewed, and reinforce the idea that ‘alternative’ sexual orientations are perverse and disgusting. LGBTQ+ individuals often oppose the addition of pedophilia to the ‘queer;’ spectrum precisely for this reason (Brammer, 2018). This is in congruence with the arguments many right-wing policy makers have had about homosexuality – “If we legalise homosexuality, what’s next? Pedophelia?”

This is reflective in the APA’s actions in 2013. The APA initially listed pedophilia as a sexual orientation, and they distinguished between pedophilia and pedophilic disorder – attraction to children versus the compulsion to act on these attractions. However, after public backlash, they amended it, stating it was not a sexuality, but a mental illness. Perhaps this is why I, Pedophile avoided the exploration of pedophilia as a sexual orientation, even though some pedophiles interviewed in the documentary labelled it as such. The argument of pedophilia as a sexual orientation involves moral grey-areas and further controversy, and it is also too complex of an issue for a 1 hour documentary to address. The documentary, despite not exploring these nuances, did accomplish its primary aim of spreading awareness. It also prompted further questioning, and if is widely viewed, it is likely to make a positive impact. If activists, politicians, academics and even concerned citizens who are fighting against the stigma around mental illness, accept pedophilia as a mental illness, it will be easier for people who are attracted to children to get help, which would make the world a safer place for children.

Sources

Knelman, M. (2016, March 09). I, Pedophile dares to empathize: Knelman.

Kampea, M. & Benger, R (2016) I, Pedophile. Canada: CBC Firsthand

Drescher, J. (2008). A history of homosexuality and organized psychoanalysis. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry, 36(3), 443-460.

World Health Organization. (2002). WHO report on violence and health. Geneva: WHO Violence Prevention Alliance, 372.

Brammer, J. P. (2018, August 02). Behind the Weird Internet Scheme to Associate Pedophiles with the LGBTQ Community.

Statement of the American Psychological Association Regarding Pedophilia and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). (13, October 31). Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2013/10/pedophilia-mental.aspx