Whynot #fundie boards.straightdope.com


Is our kneejerk reaction to paedophilia more harmful than helpful?

I've always wondered the same thing. It's pretty similar to my line on rape recovery, actually. I don't see why it should be much different for children. Children ARE more resilient than adults when it comes to actual trauma, like war and abuse. The everyday stuff like breakups, perhaps not so much, but kids can grow up in a war zone and not suffer the rates of PTSD their elders do.

One of the thing I hear a lot from grown survivors of sexual abuse as children is a literally whispered, "I know this is awful to say, but sometimes it kinda felt good." The shame and humiliation dripping off them is palpable. That shame over a perfectly normal bodily reaction is, I think, directly attributable to the reactions of their family members and society as a whole, not to the abuse itself. The appalled reactions they get, the lessons about how much they've been hurt, are in direct contrast with the love, however inappropriate, they may feel for their abusers and the pleasurable sexual sensations they might have felt. What can be concluded except that they are as dirty, bad, perverted and evil as their abusers?

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