<HEAD><TITLE>The Problem of Pedophilia</TITLE>
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<DIV>Pat asks if I'm aware that the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association are different organizations.</DIV>
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<DIV>I'm happy to say that I am, although it's not clear to me why this is important.</DIV>
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<DIV>In my universe, Wayne Fox posted a news article about the American Psychiatric Association considering a resolution in favor of gay marriage. Pat then asserted that the American Psychiatric Association also promoted child molestation between men and boys. So I provided information from the American Psychiatric Association's website which clearly states that they believe child molestation to be criminal and mentally ill behavior.</DIV>
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<DIV>The American Psychological Association's position on pedophilia is *not* in disagreement with the American Psychiatric Association. Here are excerpts from their position paper on child sexual abuse:</DIV>
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<DIV><A href="http://www.apa.org/releases/sexabuse/homepage.html">http://www.apa.org/releases/sexabuse/homepage.html</A></DIV>
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<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">"Who are the Perpetrators of Child Sexual Abuse?</SPAN> </FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">"Studies on who commits child sexual abuse vary in their findings, but the most common finding is that the majority of sexual offenders are family members or are otherwise known to the child. Sexual abuse by strangers is not nearly as common as sexual abuse by family members. Research further shows that men perpetrate most instances of sexual abuse, but there are cases in which women are the offenders. Despite a common myth, homosexual men are not more likely to sexually abuse children than heterosexual men are. <?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">"What are the Effects of Child Sexual Abuse?</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">"Children and adolescents who have been sexually abused can suffer a range of psychological and behavioral problems, from mild to severe, in both the short and long term. These problems typically include depression, anxiety, guilt, fear, sexual dysfunction, withdrawal, and acting out. Depending on the severity of the incident, victims of sexual abuse may also develop fear and anxiety regarding the opposite sex or sexual issues and may display inappropriate sexual behavior. However, the strongest indication that a child has been sexually abused is inappropriate sexual knowledge, sexual interest, and sexual acting out by that child. . . . <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">"[T]he negative effects of child sexual abuse can affect the victim for many years and into adulthood. Adults who were sexually abused as children commonly experience depression. Additionally, high levels of anxiety in these adults can result in self-destructive behaviors, such as alcoholism or drug abuse, anxiety attacks, situation-specific anxiety disorders, and insomnia. Many victims also encounter problems in their adult relationships and in their adult sexual functioning. . . .<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">"In short, the ill effects of child sexual abuse are wide ranging. There is no one set of symptoms or outcomes that victims experience. Some children even report little or no psychological distress from the abuse, but these children may be either afraid to express their true emotions or may be denying their feelings as a coping mechanism. Other children may have what is called "sleeper effects." They may experience no harm in the short run, but suffer serious problems later in life."<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P><ZZZHTML xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><ZZZHEAD><ZZZMETA content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"><ZZZMETA name="GENERATOR" content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400"></ZZZHEAD><ZZZBODY bgColor="#ffffff"></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Is this not pellucidly clear? Neither the American Psychiatric Association nor the American Psychological Association promote or condone child sexual abuse. It is simply false to claim that they do. </DIV>
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<DIV>Melynda Huskey</DIV>
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<DIV>P.S. The American Psychological Association also supports civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples. </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.apa.org/releases/gaymarriage.html">http://www.apa.org/releases/gaymarriage.html</A></DIV></ZZZBODY></ZZZHTML></BODY>