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A trailer of the Channel 4 showEddie appeared on the show because he wanted to raise awareness. He didn't want to be how he was. He wanted help – help that isn't currently available. He argued that the demonising of paedophiles drives them to offend; that the current infrastructure is nowhere near as preventative as it could be. The closing note was Eddie saying he'd been accepted onto a treatment programme in Europe, with a cutaway of him writing a "coming out" letter to his mum. Grim, but a vague flicker of hope in such a sunless area of humanity.
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Jon Brown: The system is certainly in need of reform. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it is broken. We have a really strong child protection system in the UK – some strong policies, procedures and well-developed practices, but it's a bit narrow in its focus. It needs to become focused if we are serious about preventing child abuse in all its forms. We need to recognise that there are many, many people out there causing harm to children that are never prosecuted.
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Exactly.The documentary spoke of the individuals in our community, like Eddie, who aren't exclusively attracted to children, and don't transmit their thoughts into behaviour. How do we know he's genuine, though?
Well, we don't. We need to issue a mode of caution; I was on a 5 live interview on Tuesday and that point was being made there, that we don't know if Eddie is being genuine or if he has indeed committed sexual offences. There is a tendency for those who do abuse children to cover it up, to be very manipulative and devious.But the bigger picture is that there are individuals with these kinds of thoughts who want to do something about it?
Yes. Selfishly, they don't want to end up in prison. Altruistically, they don't want to cause harm. They want help, and we need to be looking to develop many more services over the phone and face-to-face to help the individuals understand their behaviour, control it and make sure they have sufficient strategies in place to ensure they don't act on the behaviour when they are in situations of stress and depression or whatever the triggers might be for them. At the NSPCC we believe it's crucial work that needs to be invested in, as indeed do more facilities for victims. It's a dual operation we would like to see.Because we can't rely on children to report offences, can we? Even with a facility like Childline, where they have the ability to refer the case to the police, a victim might be being threatened, or in a reward cycle with their abuser.
If a young person contacts Childline identifying the individuals who have abused them, although in the strictest confidence, a conversation will then take place that helps them move to a point where they are comfortable reporting it. If you then look at a potentially similar service for individuals who are concerned about sexual thoughts towards children, there would be parameters surrounding it. My vision is that a nationwide, 24/7, 365 days a year online and phone service could provide counselling for individuals who are concerned about their thoughts. I don't see the NSPCC providing a service like that, but we certainly would support it and we would use our experts who work with child victims to inform the work and help establish it.
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Yes, it leads you down some problematic paths if you start to talk along those terms, as you get to genetic selection and awful things like that. What is clear so far from the research is that the biggest determinant for paedophilia is environment and experiences. Paedophilia isn't a sexual orientation. It's a sexual preference. Young people may grow out of this kind of thought pattern, or it may become further reinforced as an adult. Both the NSPCC and Childline already get calls from young people with concerns about themselves, so there needs to be developed provisions there.
Jon Brown, the NSPCC lead for tackling sex abuse
Indeed. It's just not a helpful phrase to use and we need to be incredibly clear about that differentiation. From a clinical psychiatric point of view, its actually seen as a mental disorder, if you look at the DSM. That medicalisation of the term can be useful in targeting treatments.
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Well, for those individuals whose interest and arousal is very strong, drug treatments may be offered. Generally speaking, though, we have seen that talking therapy and CBT approaches offer the best prospect of helping people understand and keep control of their thoughts.The issue around the term "child pornography" was also raised, too, which felt important. Because it's not porn, is it? It's a visual record of abuse.
Yes, the word "pornography" gives the wrong message. I'm pleased that was conveyed in the programme. At the NSPCC we always refer to it as child abuse imagery or illegal images of children.The show dealt with the idea of providing preventative treatment for paedophiles, rather than only acting after the crime has been committed. Can you ever imagine a Britain where treatment plans become compulsory in prison, rather than voluntary, as they are now?
You're right – treatment does remain voluntary, in as much as you can have a individual sentenced to X number of years in prison due to sexual offences against children, with a condition of treatment. But if the individual refuses to engage in that treatment, the reality is that they're not going to continue with it as there's such a shortage of places. We are concerned at the NSPCC about the shortfall between demand and availability for treatment places within the criminal justice system. We are aware of cases of individuals who are clearly in need of treatment who are released from custody without having had it, or any clear assessment as to the risks they represent.
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Is this something that the government wants to fund? It doesn't seem like the kind of thing people will be falling over themselves to throw money at.We need to recognise that there are many, many people out there causing harm to children that are never prosecuted
Yes, well, it comes down to how you package and sell it. If it's sold on a prevention ticket, saying that we need to find out how we can best prevent the sexual abuse of children, it presents a far better prospect in terms of securing funding from individual donors, organisations and government. No one can argue against the idea of preventing child sexual abuse. But how we go about it, how we prevent it from occurring, is a difficult decision in terms of what needs to be done.So what are we talking? Better sexual education for children in schools? Better advice for parents?
Yes. And those sorts of things are still relatively contentious, actually, when you get into the field of sex offenders and pedophiles. But if you wrap it up as a prevention argument, that's the best prospect of securing funding. It's the angle we're wanting to pursue at the NSPCC.
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Yes, that argument isn't helpful at all. Especially now with smartphones and the fact that there's wifi in so many public places. Communications are developing much, much faster than they were before.What are the statistics surrounding child sex abuse in the UK?
It's thought that one in three children are sexually abused by an adult but don't tell anyone. Over 90 percent of children are sexually abused by someone they know and our figures show that (from cases that have reached prosecution) up to one in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused. Of course, all these are underestimates. We are only dealing with the tip of the iceberg.Are you hopeful?
I am. I have to be.@eleanormorganMore from VICE:Organised Criminals In Northern England Are Making Money Selling Children for SexHow We Finally Turned Into a Nation of Paedophile HuntersThe Awful Truth: We Know Nothing About Child Abuse In This Country
