Wouldn’t it be nice if your child’s sexual abuse never happened? What if we could stop abuse before it happens. One of the challenges is the prevention infrastructure focusing on potential offenders hasn’t existed in the past. It’s perfectly acceptable to publicly admit if you have a drinking, drug or gambling problem. You can look up these types of programs easily on Google and you have a choice of in-patient, counseling, support groups, you name it. There was a time when even these didn’t exist. But some things are not as easily accepted.
Cannibals’ Support Line
Few things raise public ire and fear more than a pedophile. Cannibalism is probably about on the same level of acceptance. Imagine TV ads, ‘If you are hungry for human flesh, we can help you curb the urge”. Even the ads would not be socially acceptable. So how do you mainstream acknowledgement of a problem that disgusts the average person, and identifies you as a potential criminal for expressing an interest in the behavior.
The admission is different as well. Acknowledging a substance abuse problem doesn’t necessarily indicate that you have broken any laws. Maybe you have, maybe you haven’t. Either way, you are likely to be accepted for your sins by society in general after the fact. Terms like pedophile or cannibal are forever linked to the person and what they did. Is it a double standard or are we just not ready to accept that attraction to children is just another problem that people are likely to have?
Help Wanted to Stop Abuse
Johns Hopkins is currently testing the waters on an online program for people who are likely to offend. The program is geared towards adolescents since adults may have already crossed the line. The goal is to correct behavior before it becomes criminal. There are already several successful programs for problem sexual behavior in adolescents, but they generally only come into play after abuse has taken place.
The Help Wanted program is different in that respect. They are trying to prevent abuse before it starts. I think we all wish our offenders had been able to get some help before they did what they did. It is a complicated process to get society to recognize this is just one more dimension of humanity. I don’t think they will be advertising on cable any time soon, but I wish them well in coming up with another way to prevent abuse in the future.
