Are paedophiles who don't act on their feelings still in the wrong?

[Coactum]

One thing I will say is that when we make simply thinking something outright illegal, then we stray into very dangerous territory as a society. We can break it up into two parts, being attracted to kids and not acting on it, or being attracted to kids and acting on it.

Is being attracted to kids inherently evil? Of course not. Is it distasteful? Definitely.

Is acting on that attraction evil? I'd say so. To permanently scar a vulnerable child for sexual gratification is downright horrific and should never be tolerated.


I think it's utterly wrong to condemn someone for thoughts. I work in mental health and believe me, I've heard some pretty alarming ideas. The attraction should be considered an intolerable fetish and a mental health issue as opposed to painting and therefore demonising every person who struggles with it. The people who act on it should be punished accordingly, but people who think it? The outright stigma forces people with these thoughts to hide away and fester as opposed to feeling like they can reach for help, and that can only make things more dangerous. Mental health illness is not something you can magic away by pretending it's not there. There needs to be a wider berth imo.

Realistically there will always be predators, and we'll never get rid of the issue - the problem is, societies inadvertantly bury the entire subject under the carpet by refusing to understand that maybe some of these people need help as opposed to shot. Even saying things like this makes a lot of people uncomfortable, as if their resolve against something so abhorrent must be black and white and any less is wrong.

[AgnesIO]

I am seemingly in agreement with the majority; as long as they do not act on their feelings (or conspire to act on them), you can't really put them in the wrong. As others have said, sexual attractions are said to be deep within a person. The next question is; are you born gay? If you believe that to be the case, the same must be said for someone attracted to children.