Posted: Nov 22, 2019 4:16 pm
Spearthrower wrote:However, sexual contact with a post-pubescent teenager younger than the age of consent (say 15 y .o.) isn't pedophilia; legally, it would be rape.
But in popular culture and the media it is. So when we're talking about cases of child abuse and the patterns therein, we have to be clear exactly what we're talking about.
Spearthrower wrote:Pedophilia is a "primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children".
So there's a lot of questions involved here. How many people who actually abuse prepubescent children actually fit this definition, and how many also enjoy relationships with adults? And of those who maintain adult sexual relationships, does their sexuality in this area match up with the gender of children they abuse, or are they pretty indiscriminate about it? And a further question that might muddy the water is to what extent are child abusers actually physically motivated by an attraction to children (i.e. the definition of a paedophile), and how many use rape as part of a wider abusive power dynamic similar to what you might see in prison or war. All of these factors make it quite difficult to come to any conclusions.