Who are they?

Imagine living with an uncontrollable urge that you know would isolate you from society instantly if anyone ever found out. Imagine living with these feelings despite disagreeing with every fibre of them, and never acting on them. Imagine keeping these strong urges bottled up out of fear of telling a soul. Welcome to the lives of the Virtuous Paedophiles.

The Virtuous Paedophiles are an online support group, set up to help support those who acknowledge having a sexual interest in children but do not act on their attractions. All members share the opinion that sexual activity between adults and children is wrong, and the law should never change on that matter, but perhaps the stigma surrounding the word ‘paedophile’ should.

“Our primary aim is to educate the general public that many paedophiles are not molesters, and are not destined to become molesters. As people with a condition we did not choose and cannot change, we deserve acceptance to the extent we make sure never to act on our attractions,” said one of the VP founders, who goes by the pseudonym Ethan Edwards.

The support group has over 2000 members, including parents of paedophiles, parents of children, and many paedophiles, both men and women.

The Virtuous Paedophiles

THE HARD TRUTH

76% OF PAEDOPHILIC SEX OFFENDERS

SUFFERED FROM MAJOR DEPRESSION

A FURTHER 9%

SUFFERED FROM MILD DEPRESSION

NEARLY 90% OF VP POLL RESPONDERS

ADMITTED TO SUICIDAL THOUGHTS

20%

HAVE TRIED TO KILL THEMSELVES

A 1999 study of paedophilic sex offenders by the University of Minnesota's Department of Family Medicine and Community Health found that 76% had suffered from major depression in their life, with a further 9% meeting the criteria for mild depression.

A poll on the Virtuous Paedophile website found that 90% of members who voted had thought about killing themselves. 20% had tried.

A statement from The Virtuous Paedophiles:

We do not choose to be attracted to children, and we cannot make that attraction go away. But we can resist the temptation to abuse children sexually, and many of us present no danger to children whatsoever. Yet we are despised for having a sexual attraction that we did not choose, cannot change, and successfully resist.

This hatred has its costs, both to children and to non-offending paedophiles themselves. Many paedophiles don’t seek professional help because of the shame involved in admitting to therapists that they are sexually attracted to children. Think how many cases of abuse would be avoided if paedophiles who were dedicated to resisting their attractions were treated with sympathy and respect, and were therefore more willing to seek professional help in order to remain law-abiding. And think of the cost to non-offending paedophiles themselves. Many are depressed, and even suicidal, because of sexual thoughts that they didn’t choose but are able to successfully resist.

Imagine for a moment that it was your child who was unfortunate enough to be attracted to children. According to leading scientists, there is approximately a one percent chance of this happening no matter how good a parent you may be. What would you want for your child? Would you want him or her to be alone, full of self-hate, forced to bear this burden without help? Or instead, would you want your child to be treated with sympathy and respect, to have access to help so he or she could live a happy, productive and law-abiding life?

The goals of our organization are to reduce the stigma attached to paedophilia by letting people know that a substantial number of paedophiles do not molest children, and to provide peer support and information about available resources to help paedophiles lead happy, productive lives. Our highest priority is to help paedophiles never abuse children.