Public (Mis)perceptions of Individuals Who Sexually Abuse Children and the Implications Thereof

Abstract

Abstract The public perceives individuals who sexually abuse children as monsters who will continue harming vulnerable children. This chapter delves into the nature of public (mis)perceptions on this topic and the ineffective and reactionary legislation that results. First, to highlight inaccuracies, public beliefs about sexual abusers of children are reviewed and compared with empirical findings about offenders. The second part of this chapter applies Cohen’s theory of moral panic and reviews the cyclical nature of sexual moral panics in the United States. Multiple waves of moral panic drawing on rare cases of strangers abducting and murdering children have resulted in the adoption of punitive and reactionary legislation over time. Such legislation gives the appearance of addressing the issue of child sexual abuse but is not truly effective in preventing it, introducing the concept of crime control theatre. The third part of this chapter discusses the need for better terminology to describe sexual abusers of children, demonstrating that the increasingly popular label of ‘paedophile’ activates faulty beliefs and a mythical construction of the individuals who commit such acts. Using terms that do not establish individuals perpetrating child sexual abuse as ‘other’ might be a promising way of communicating about the issue with the public, to convey that they are otherwise normal individuals who use their position as a family member or acquaintance to commit their crime.