From Correspondent Bill Delaney
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BERLIN (CNN) -- A
profoundly disturbing
child-sex case unfolding in
Belgium has drawn the
world's attention to the
problem of child
molestation.
In turn, that attention has increased interest in an
upcoming international child exploitation conference to
begin Tuesday in Stockholm, Sweden. Officials and
journalists from 130 countries will attend the
conference.
While the problem of pedophilia
has so far been studied mostly in
Asia, it is a growing problem in a
number of European countries as
well, including Germany.
CNN met with one German, an
apparently mild-mannered,
intelligent man in his mid-30s. He is a pedophile who
throughout his adult life has had sexual relationships
with boys as young as 11.
"Years ago, I had the illusion I could do something to
stop it," he said. "Now I know it can't be stopped."
In Germany, sex with anyone under 14 is illegal.
Nonetheless, experts say, pedophilia is on the increase,
in part because as traditional male-female roles have
broken down, more men seek relationships in which
they are unquestionably in charge.
"Sexuality always has something to do with power,"
said sex counselor Christian Spoden. "The major
difference between grown-ups and children is that
children cannot give informed consent."
In Germany, as in most other places, pedophilia is
handled mainly as a crime rather than an illness. Cutting
down sex tourism, especially in Asian countries like
Thailand, has become a new focus for law
enforcement. Last year, more Germans than ever
before were arrested for having sex with children
outside of Germany.
The problem with the strategy of just arresting
pedophiles, experts say, is that putting police pressure
on sex offenders, whether in or out of Germany,
doesn't change much.
In a society with so few taboos left, many pedophiles
end up feeling that they are being victimized by society
for having questionable sexual inclinations.
The German man CNN met says he considers
pedophilia a curse that led to his suicide attempt in jail.
At the same time, he firmly believes boys as young as
eight years old want sex, and he says he has never
forced a child to do anything.
His attitude is typical among pedophiles, experts say,
and is evidence that Germany needs more programs to
treat pedophilia, not punish it.
Some believe that Germany and other countries should
also stop sending mixed signals to pedophiles -- for
example, in Germany, magazines with photos of nude
children are readily available on news stands.
Although publishers insist that the
photos are simply a portrayal of
innocent naturism, their detractors
say that such publications promote
the sexual abuse of children.
Do the children pictured know that
they get published in such a
magazine? we asked Spoden. "I very strongly believe
they don't know that they are in this context, of this
magazine, which is of course used pornographically,"
he said. "For pedophiles. We know that."
In Germany, it is difficult to define acceptable social
values in a society that many say long ago lost its
innocence.
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