ABSTRACT
There is reason to regard men’s sexual interest in children as a sexual orientation, but one outside the accepted norm. This chapter describes the definitions of various forms of interest in children that has been generically lumped together as paedophilia. It discusses the forensic profiles together with some of the psychological processes that might be involved in a sexual interest in children, first for men and then for women. A sexual interest in children is difficult to manage unproblematically, and these men are constantly at risk of discovery and being “outed” in the public domain. The literature on sexual offending tends to divide people who commit offences against children into intrafamilial offenders, or incest offenders, and interfamilial or predatory paedophiles. The memory of the abuse might become sexualised and can lead to re-enactment, so the victim becomes the perpetrator. Many retrospective studies have been conducted to determine the impact of sexual abuse in male children, particularly surveying college students.
