– I was very distraught and felt a lot of shame. I read in the newspaper about abusers and ugly people. I thought I was condemned to commit assault. I thought that when I grow up, I will get worse and worse. “David” is a pedophile, and has previously written the news statement “I am sexually attracted to children”. David is not the man’s real name. news knows his identity. He describes himself as a fairly standard man equipped with empathy and the ability to reflect. He has no criminal convictions and says he has never acted on his sexual attraction to children. He believes that more openness and understanding around the diagnosis of pedophilia will make it easier to seek help, and most importantly, be preventive against abuse occurring. Three years ago, he sought help from the offer “There is help”. – I was received very well. There was good information in advance about the criteria for seeking help, that they have a duty of confidentiality and, for example, do not share information with the GP. It made me feel safe. For “David”, it has been important to get help. He believes that more openness will lead to more people in his situation also seeking the same help. Photo: news – The only representation David often sees are headlines he believes are misleading. “Man convicted of pedophilia”. “Man accused of being a pedophile”. “Pedohunters”. Recently, several articles have been written about so-called pedo hunters. The articles are about cases where people suspected of child abuse are sought out. Often it ends in violence. Those who seek out people often call themselves “pedohunters”. – It is important to write about such cases and generally about abuse that occurs. But for people who have that attraction, that’s pretty much the only representation in the media. For him, it is important that the terms “pedophile” and “abuser” are not equated. That you can be a pedophile without being an abuser, and that there is help you can seek. Seeing an increase on a national basis, David believes the phenomenon of “pedohunters” makes it more difficult to seek help. – Firstly, it often confirms the outsiderness and shame you feel. Secondly, it creates fear. It becomes more difficult to seek help to deal with the attraction. At the same time, he has a great understanding that people are angry and feel that too little is being done. That it is tempting to take the law into one’s own hands. Marie Nyland is a police attorney in the Sør-Vest police district. She clarifies that incidents where groups such as “pedohunters” seek out and expose others to violence are punishable. – If someone believes that a criminal offense has been committed, we want them to contact the police instead of taking the law into their own hands, says Nyland. When news spoke to Nyland, she only knew of one incident in the Sør-West police district. Since then, another one has appeared at Bryne. – We see an increase in such cases nationally, says Nyland. Do you need someone to talk to? If you need someone to talk to about this, you can contact “There is help”. You can chat with them anonymously here. (The service is open weekdays 12–14.) You can book an appointment for treatment here. The treatment is offered at the following places: Haukeland University Hospital Oslo University Hospital St. Olavs Hospital Stavanger University Hospital Northern Norway University Hospital – You have to dare to talk about it Anne Wold, senior physician at the special outpatient unit at Oslo University Hospital, says that having a sexual attraction to minors is very disgraced. – One is afraid of the consequences of sharing one’s darkest secret. There is a high threshold for contacting us, says Wold. Although no one knows for sure, international research suggests that at least 2 percent of adult men have a sexual interest in children, according to Wold. Translated into Norwegian terms, this would mean approximately 44,000 men over the age of 18. But according to Wold, this is a group that is difficult to research and to reach out to. According to Wold, the people who contact the helpline say that they feel that society equates problematic sexual feelings with being an abuser. – All these men who admit to having these types of sexual thoughts do not become abusers. Since the offer “There is help” was created in 2020, 300 people have received help. An important goal of the treatment offer is to prevent abuse. – If you want to solve social problems, you have to dare to talk about it. The last thing that helps is if people with problems withdraw further into their shells and remain in their darkness. I think that’s scary. Anne Wold, senior physician at the specialist outpatient unit at Oslo University Hospital, says the threshold for seeking help is too high. Photo: Erlend Dalhaug Daae / news – What do you think about groups choosing to take the law into their own hands? – I don’t think that helps. If you are concerned that someone is being abused, you should contact the police or child protection. If you know someone who is struggling with sexual interest in children, you can advise that there is a treatment offer and motivate them to seek help. Need someone to talk to For David, it was crucial to have someone to talk to about his sexual attraction. Today he is 49 years old. When he was 13, he noticed that he was different from the others his age. He established early on that he was gay. But the older he got, the more despondent he became. He was still attracted to young boys. Boys as young as seven caught his attention. By the time he was 16, he understood that this was an attraction that probably wasn’t going to go away. – It was important for me to talk about it and be met with understanding. Now there is something that I can talk about and reflect on. I feel more confident in who I am. Wold says that those who contact “There is help” feel the same. – They expect to be met with condemnation, but those who come to us experience it as an enormous burden that is lifted from their shoulders. Published 17.08.2024, at 21.13 Updated 17.08.2024, at 21.24
ttn-69
Pedophile David believes “pedo hunters” make it more difficult to seek help – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
