ABSTRACT
The term “paedophilia” refers to a state of mind, a sexual in-terest in children, “which may or may not be translated intoaction” (Wood, 2012). Current social preoccupations have meant that concern about child protection has obscured questions about the meaning of this sexual orientation towards children. Public condemnation and disgust at child sexual abuse militates against any desire or need to understand this psychosexual phenomenon. Consequently, interventions have taken the form of prevention against reoffending; treatment for those who have sexually offended against children has tended to be highly structured, and with an explicit value base, that is, declared statements about responsibility for offences, and analysis of power relationships (Brown & Caddick, 1993, pp. 218-230). The preference for manualised treatment programmes reflects the overarching need for treatment to control behaviour, and not only of the offender-patient, but also of the therapist.
