Someone on a social networking site to which I contribute from time to time has shared a meme declaring that s/he is in favour of the death penalty for paedophiles.
I am opposed to the death penalty as a whole, and especially to a grieving/aggrieved family/victim being given any say in sentencing (something else I've heard advocated). On that point, to those who say that I would feel differently were I that victim, I agree that that is quite probably true; what I disagree with is the conclusion that the judgement of an emotionally scarred version of me is a sound basis on which to decide someone else's life expectancy. People don't seem to think that a time of grief or personal hardship is the best time for an individual to decide whether he should end his own life - the individual is in this case deemed to be understandably irrational and offered counselling - so why give him responsibility for someone else's death or incarceration for life?[1]
On the subject of paedophilia, I genuinely (honestly, not figure-of-speech 'genuinely') don't understand why it is given such a high profile and condemned so much more strongly than other forms of abuse or assault. I don't want to encourage the sexual molestation of children, but neither do I wish to encourage domestic violence, non-sexual child abuse or rape, to cite three examples.
Paedophilia without action is, in its most basic form, an attraction to children. If this is viewed as abnormal, which it certainly seems to be, then if it is brought to light the paedophile should be educated and perhaps treated psychologically, and it should be ensured that he[2] is not placed in situations where he might harm children (not by drastic action such as execution). If the paedophile acts upon the attraction and shows no inclination not to repeat the offence, he should be kept away from all children, the most effective non-lethal means being, as far as I can see, imprisonment.
I have yet to see a meme advocating the death penalty for other forms of abuse, indicating that such feeling is not as widespread as the general disquieting vilification of paedophiles.[3] Whilst it can demonstrably be argued that children require more protection than adult abuse victims, this is not an argument to kill people who find children sexually attractive.
It was once unlawful for men to act upon sexual attraction to other men, and other sexual conduct may be outlawed in the future. One day, for example if procreation no longer requires heterosexual intercourse, even my own currently normal (in the sense of being a prevailing norm) preference for adult men may become socially unacceptable. Paedophilia is a preference. The act of it seems to me to be a case of rape,[4] since children are seen to be less capable of understanding or rejecting such advances, and rape is currently illegal and punishable, quite firmly, under the law.
To conclude, we already have harsh penalties for paedophilia, including penalties for the encouragement of underage pornography by the possession of such materials, and the current punishments allow for future reintegration of offenders, which capital punishment does not. We no longer impose the death penalty at all in the UK, and that is something I value as priceless in our society.
1 All questions on this blog are entirely rhetorical unless stated otherwise, and answers are not welcomed.
2 I use 'he' in the general sense, not to suggest that all paedophiles are men.
3 This is not an invitation to link me to memes you may have seen.
4 Incidentally, I agree (reluctantly) with the minister who was pilloried for saying that there are 'degrees' of rape. A 'child' aged 15 years and 364 days who had sex with a slightly older partner would today be a rape victim, but would tomorrow in the same situation be a consenting adult. This is not the same as violent assault.
I am opposed to the death penalty as a whole, and especially to a grieving/aggrieved family/victim being given any say in sentencing (something else I've heard advocated). On that point, to those who say that I would feel differently were I that victim, I agree that that is quite probably true; what I disagree with is the conclusion that the judgement of an emotionally scarred version of me is a sound basis on which to decide someone else's life expectancy. People don't seem to think that a time of grief or personal hardship is the best time for an individual to decide whether he should end his own life - the individual is in this case deemed to be understandably irrational and offered counselling - so why give him responsibility for someone else's death or incarceration for life?[1]
On the subject of paedophilia, I genuinely (honestly, not figure-of-speech 'genuinely') don't understand why it is given such a high profile and condemned so much more strongly than other forms of abuse or assault. I don't want to encourage the sexual molestation of children, but neither do I wish to encourage domestic violence, non-sexual child abuse or rape, to cite three examples.
Paedophilia without action is, in its most basic form, an attraction to children. If this is viewed as abnormal, which it certainly seems to be, then if it is brought to light the paedophile should be educated and perhaps treated psychologically, and it should be ensured that he[2] is not placed in situations where he might harm children (not by drastic action such as execution). If the paedophile acts upon the attraction and shows no inclination not to repeat the offence, he should be kept away from all children, the most effective non-lethal means being, as far as I can see, imprisonment.
I have yet to see a meme advocating the death penalty for other forms of abuse, indicating that such feeling is not as widespread as the general disquieting vilification of paedophiles.[3] Whilst it can demonstrably be argued that children require more protection than adult abuse victims, this is not an argument to kill people who find children sexually attractive.
It was once unlawful for men to act upon sexual attraction to other men, and other sexual conduct may be outlawed in the future. One day, for example if procreation no longer requires heterosexual intercourse, even my own currently normal (in the sense of being a prevailing norm) preference for adult men may become socially unacceptable. Paedophilia is a preference. The act of it seems to me to be a case of rape,[4] since children are seen to be less capable of understanding or rejecting such advances, and rape is currently illegal and punishable, quite firmly, under the law.
To conclude, we already have harsh penalties for paedophilia, including penalties for the encouragement of underage pornography by the possession of such materials, and the current punishments allow for future reintegration of offenders, which capital punishment does not. We no longer impose the death penalty at all in the UK, and that is something I value as priceless in our society.
1 All questions on this blog are entirely rhetorical unless stated otherwise, and answers are not welcomed.
2 I use 'he' in the general sense, not to suggest that all paedophiles are men.
3 This is not an invitation to link me to memes you may have seen.
4 Incidentally, I agree (reluctantly) with the minister who was pilloried for saying that there are 'degrees' of rape. A 'child' aged 15 years and 364 days who had sex with a slightly older partner would today be a rape victim, but would tomorrow in the same situation be a consenting adult. This is not the same as violent assault.
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