Pedophilia

Abstract

Paedophilia is a controversial topic which evokes strong reaction among the general public as well as the clinician. Part of the reason for this is because it is closely associated with harm to children through child sexual abuse. It is categorised as a mental disorder in the two major international classificatory systems of diseases under the heading of paraphilias or sexual preference disorders. Using an overview of the current available literature and the authors' clinical experience this chapter aims to describe various characteristics of this paraphilic disorder including its definition, subtypes, current diagnostic criteria, gender bias, onset and course, epidemiology, aetiology and its assessment. As pedophilia is closely associated with crimes against children as well as significant public stigma especially in recent times this aspect will also be briefly explored. Fictionalised case vignettes will be presented to illustrate the problem further. Much of the literature on this topic relates to men in forensic settings and hence limits the ability to draw conclusions with regard to the general population.