What makes pedophilia an especially heinous crime? What punishment is appropriate for its perpetrators? What should be done to aid its victims?

Pedophilia

The image of children especially conjures up the vision of innocence and purity. When one mixes connotations of sexual promiscuity to such thoughts or occurrences, it distorts the intended symbol of all that is good and dear. Sex for adults sometimes is tied to painful memories or associations. It is therefore hard to understand why anyone would want to transfer these types of negative emotions to a child (Hamo, & Idisis, 2017). Furthermore, consent is the basis of adult and any sexual relations. Children have no option when it comes to being the victim of sexual predators. The whole image worsens when one realizes that the children cannot fight back.

Some people argue that the punishment for pedophiles is inadequate. They insist that such heinous crimes ought to have more severe consequences where the predator walks away having lost so much more than time spent in jail. Other people, on the other hand, argue that pedophilia is a sickness and instead of society treating these people so poorly, they ought to understand them and offer them treatment (Hamo, & Idisis, 2017). One can also stand in the middle ground where the punishment for pedophiles ought to be more severe so that it can act as a deterrent for potential predators.

Recovery for sexually abused children is often a complicated affair. Children have different time lapses where they bounce back because they have different ways of responding to information (Hamo, & Idisis, 2017). One key aspect of doing while helping the child recover is to reassure them that it is not their fault continually. The person responsible for nursing back the child to mental health should make them feel they are available for talking and also that they believe them. There exist many a therapeutic clinic where one can find the help they best feel the child would benefit.

Reference

Hamo, G., & Idisis, Y. (2017). Pedophiles in the Ultra-Orthodox Haredi Sector in Israel: Thought Processes Regarding their Actions. Journal of child sexual abuse, 26(4), 407-427.