The Science of Sex Offenders

Steven Erickson has a lengthy post at Crime & Consequences concerning the science and medical evidence about sex offenders.  Among the many issues Erickson discusses, he writes:

First, the authors state "some researchers are pushing the public to see pedophilia as a psychological disorder that calls for study and treatment--for no less a reason than the safety of children worldwide. The idea is to separate this mental state from criminal acts of child abuse, because the two do not always go hand in hand." What scientific evidence, other than the APA's DSM calling it a mental disorder, is there pedophilia is a mental disorder? Most people assume that such terrible conduct must mean that the offender is "sick in the head" because the behavior is so repulsive. But, of course, this is circular. There's lots of criminal actions that seem "sick" and yet few people believe that people who engage in such behaviors are mentally ill. What makes pedophilia special? Might it be Freud's enduring stain on our culture as I've argued elsewhere? And are we really interested in the mental state apart from the criminal act? Perhaps we should be, as I've argued elsewhere, we don't know much about pedophilia, but I'm not sure very many people are in interested in pedophilia from an abstract or scientific perspective.

I picked this part of the post because I think the area where Erickson is over-reaching the most.  While there is a debate to be had over whether all pedophiles are actually all "sick," that doesn't mean there isn't a very high level of mental illness among the pedophile population.  I think the simplest evidence of the psychological issues at play is the incredible cycle of sexual violence that exists.  Molesters were often molested themselves.  That is not just a coincidence.  We may not understand the exact reasons for the connection between being a victim and a molester, but simply discounting medical explanations seems like a big mistake to me.

With that being said, Erickson raises several interesting points, so go check the post out.