“Can’t you see her? “, asks an illustrated poster of a little girl swimming. Without shocking, the image calls out. And directs: ” Are you attracted to children? Look no further, a professional can help you: 0 806 23 10 63. »
A national campaign is launched targeting people sexually attracted to children. They direct them to a “Stop” telephone help service (telephone counseling and prevention service), in order, if necessary, to accompany them towards care: psychotherapy, possibly drug treatment. The goal: to prevent sexual violence against minors.
The idea is to take care of these perpetrators before they act on children.
, explains the doctor Anne-Helene Moncany, president of the National Federation of resource centers for those working with perpetrators of sexual violence (Criavs). These hospital services (twenty-seven in France), initially created to take care of the perpetrators of sexual violence after their passage to the act, are at the origin of this device, supported by the Secretary of State for Children .
Pedophiles, not necessarily aggressors
The “Stop” wants to reach out to pedophiles, because not all of them will sexually assault children. The majority of people who call us noticed that they had this attraction, they walked. They feel guilty and don’t want to hurt a child. Suddenly, they struggle. However, the fight can cause suffering, and suffering is a risk factor to take action, ”explains psychiatrist Anne-Hélène Moncany.
An experiment was carried out for one year in five regions, including Pays-de-la-Loire. The number was little known at the time, but 336 people called. A large majority of men, around 30 years old. There are very few women, but concerning them there is a black number, because the subject is even more taboo
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A French delay
Until then, the prevention of sexual violence against minors was aimed at victims. But not to potential perpetrators. It is a change of approach, which arrives very late in France. And is inspired by our neighbors: Germany initiated this process fifteen years ago. The United Kingdom twenty years ago.
Why such a delay? « The subject of sexual violence against minors has long been taboo in France, we see it with the awareness around incest that is currently emerging, notes the doctor. There is also, in France, confusion in terms. The pedophilic disorder, in psychiatry, is defined as a sexual attraction to children, chronic, lasting but without necessarily taking place. While in France, pedophilia is confused with pedocriminality, the act of sexually assaulting minors. It can overlap, of course, but we are addressing pedophiles who do not want to assault minors and who have not assaulted them.
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Attraction to children
Studies are lacking, but the percentage of “pedophiles” in the general population, who have a stable attraction to children, has been estimated at around 5%. Where does this attraction come from? We don’t know, answers Anne-Hélène Moncany. It is a sexual attraction that people do not choose, like any sexual attraction. No one chooses to be attracted to men or women ”. But there is a ban on being attracted to young children, acting out or consuming images. In addition, a third of the people who sexually assaulted minors were themselves victims, children. It might have a connection, but that’s not the majority of people. So that would be a little simplistic explanation …
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