Child sexual abuse is a severe crime that has serious effects on the psychological development of minors. Most people use the terms “pedophile” and “pedophile” interchangeably to refer to those who carry out this type of act, considering them synonymous.
However, although deeply linked, both concepts do not refer to exactly the same thing. That is why this article proposes to distinguish and show the differences between pedophilia and pedophilia.
Pedophilia or pedophilia is a paraphilia, that is, a disorder of sexual inclination that is characterized by the presence of recurring fantasies that produce a high level of sexual arousal in which the object of desire is a non-consenting object, person or entity. or a situation of humiliation and suffering for oneself and others. The experimentation of these fantasies can lead to their realization and/or feelings of intense discomfort for those who suffer from them.
In the specific case of pedophilia, the object of desire or what causes sexual attraction are prepubescent boys or girls. Specifically, it can be considered a chronophilia, because there is a great difference between the age of the subject and that of the object of desire. For its diagnosis, it is necessary that the subject be over sixteen years of age and that the victim or object of desire be at least five years younger.
As a general rule, the pedophile will seek contact with his object of desire, frequently resorting to pornographic images and self-stimulating based on his fantasies, but there is no reason to try to have sexual relations.
With regard to pedophiles, those individuals in whom the pedophile’s own fantasies have been brought to reality are considered as such. That is, pedophilia is the commission of sexual abuse of minors.
This abuse includes all conduct in which the minor is used as a sexual object by an individual with whom there is a relationship of inequality in terms of age, power or maturity.
It is a criminal practice punishable by law which can cause serious repercussions on the present and/or future psychosocial and sexual development of the attacked minor. Even if the sexual relationship is consented by the minor, if the minor is below the age of sexual consent, the act itself will be considered abuse, classifying it as rape. The consensual sexual relationship between subjects at the end of adolescence with individuals of at least thirteen years of age is not taken into account as such.
Common elements and main differences
Once the definitions of both pedophilia and pedophilia have been visualized, it is easy to establish what elements they have in common and how they differ.
In both cases we are talking about the presence of an illicit relationship between an adult and a minor, there being a romantic or sexual attraction on the part of the first towards the second. This attraction occurs continuously over time, persisting for at least six months.
The main difference is in the fact that sexual attraction whether or not it materializes in an action. While a pedophile can only feel the impulse and maintain recurring sexual fantasies in which the object of his desire is a minor, he is considered a pedophile to be someone who has committed the sexual act itself. In other words, while the pedophile has had sexual relations with a boy or girl, the pedophile does not carry out the act (in which case he would become a pedophile).
So not all pedophiles are pedophileswhile as a general rule every pedophile is a pedophile. However, this is not always true either, since it is possible to find cases of sexual abuse of minors without them being the subject of sexual preference on the part of the adult.
Criminal liability
Pedophilia is a disorder of the sexual inclination or the choice of the sexual object, said choice of the sexual object being limited. However, as a general rule, those who suffer from it are perfectly capable of realizing what it means for the minors involvedthe damage caused and the fact that it is a serious crime defined by law. Their decision-making capacity is not altered, meaning they are fully responsible for their actions.
In this way, pedophilia and different activities carried out by pedophiles (corruption of minors, creation, possession or possession of child pornography, etc.) are punishable by law, and the majority of these individuals are considered fully attributable.
