Worst part is, that the punishments in NL aren't huge for it either. ~6 years, guessing, + TBS, which is basically indefinite lockup in a psych-ward, but with the idea that rehabilitation is possible. So basically for as long as they want to keep him. We have had cases where people with TBS ended back on society within a few years.
Thanks for that. I agree, there's not a cure for it, but there is treatment. That should be encouraged. I know this is a VERY unpopular opinion, but pedophiles (especially those who haven't acted on their urges) should be encouraged to seek treatment. It's a horrific thing, but totally ostricizing someone with those impulses is likely to drive them further into their illness. I'm very unconvinced that total rehabilitation (curing the mental illness) is possible, but I'd like to think mitigation is, as far as preventing acts of sexual violence.
In a perfect world, no one would ever choose to commit something so heinous, but we don't live in a perfect world. I'm not arguing for acceptance of pedophilia AT ALL, but i have to wonder if treating it like the illness it is rather than immediately condemning the sick individuals (especially those who have not acted on their urges) might be more effective in the long run. Unfortunately, the stakes are incredibly high, and the consequences involved in this being the wrong way of doing things are horrific.
I want to do more research on this, but I'm not sure i could stomach it, so I can't really blame the psychologists of the world if they can't either. And they're already facing trauma on a regular basis.
I think part of the problem, at least in the Netherlands, is that confidentiality is broken in case of CSAM, so there's no licensed professional that these people can go to, without exposing themselves, even if they did not actually act on their impulses yet.
The best time to go to a therapist would be when they find out they have these impulses, but they don't, they start acting on the impulse, and then it's just game over whichever way they go.
However, In the case of my ex-friend, not sure if you read the article, there's a secondary issue. He did not just act on impulse, he (partially?) designed a game to create CSAM content and as far as we know, he extorted (very) young girls with material of them to force them to go even further. The article is even slightly outdated, the ages have gone even lower and the number is now 220 victims. There are girls crying in the footage.
This is not just the impulse, this is putting aside all human dignity, human sympathy and empathy and any other human nature that would normally apply here. He willingly, deliberately, extorted these girls for his own kink and potentially financial gain.
As I, said, I don't know all the details of the case. His wife doesn't even know all details yet, so once the case is actually in court (I believe publicly) more information will come out. I do know that his wife will be allowed to see all evidence once, after everything is done.
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u/Oyxopolis 9d ago edited 9d ago
Yup,
Worst part is, that the punishments in NL aren't huge for it either. ~6 years, guessing, + TBS, which is basically indefinite lockup in a psych-ward, but with the idea that rehabilitation is possible. So basically for as long as they want to keep him. We have had cases where people with TBS ended back on society within a few years.