Frequently Asked Questions

Scroll down for FAQs on the topics of minor-attracted people and abolition.

Minor-Attracted People

Why “Minor Attracted People” (MAPs) and not “Pedophiles?”

“Pedophile” refers to specifically people who have attractions to prepubescent children. Minor-Attracted Person, or MAP, refers to a wider range of people, is less stigmatizing than the word “pedophile,” and has been used by researchers who study child abuse prevention and MAPs alike for over a decade.

 

Why destigmatize MAPs?

Child sexual abuse is a huge problem, and the ways we typically attempt to solve it have not ended abuse. Stigma against MAPs can make them afraid to seek help if they’re at risk of harming a child or harming themselves, and that’s dangerous for everyone. By lessening stigma against MAPs, we can help them feel more comfortable seeking help if they need it.

 

Why do you study non-offending MAPs?

The goal of my research is to protect children. I want to increase the number of tools available to protect our kids from abuse. I’ve talked to many MAPs who suffer from unwanted attractions and never want to harm a child. The MAPs I spoke to for my research were successful in non-offending, but no one was asking them about how they had achieved this success so that others could learn from them. I decided to ask those questions so we could make children safer.

 

What have you said about child sexual exploitation materials (CSEM)?

Some news articles have incorrectly stated that I advocated for MAPs to use CSEM (“child pornography”). I have not advocated for this, and I never would. I have written about MAPs’ use of these materials in two places: my dissertation and my book. In my dissertation’s literature review I quoted from other researchers about a possibility they had raised regarding MAPs’ use of CSEM, in order to set up my own research questions about this potential behavior. The quote I used was taken out of this context in the news: neither I, nor the authors I quoted from, were advocating for MAPs to use CSEM. In my book, I state unequivocally, “Clearly, harm is done to real children abused in pornography, and no ethical policy suggestion could possibly argue for its production or distribution for ‘therapeutic’ value of adults” (p. 124).

 

I am a MAP. Are there any resources out there for people like me?

Yes! First of all, in the words of Help Wanted:

  • You are not defined by your attraction.

  • You deserve good health and happiness.

  • You can help keep children safe from being harmed.

  • You are not alone.

Help Wanted is an online course that can help people attracted to children who are worried they might harm a child. It also has resources for helping people cope with their attractions, disclosing their attractions to others, and building a positive self-image.

Virtuous Pedophiles (VirPed) is a peer-support group for people who are over 18 and who are attracted to children. Their members:

  • believe that sexual activity between an adult and a child is always wrong, and oppose legalizing it or making it in any way more accepted

  • believe that material that records abuse and exploitation of real children is always wrong and oppose its production, distribution, legalization and use

The group supports each other, through an online forum, in non-offending and in coping with attractions.

B4U-ACT is a group made up of MAPs, therapists, and researchers. They offer peer support for MAPs through an online forum, and can also connect MAPs with supportive therapists.

MAP Support Club is a group for MAPs 13 years old and over who are against child sexual abuse. They offer peer support for MAPs through a live chat service.

The Global Prevention Project hosts therapist-led weekly psycho-educational support group meetings, over the phone, for MAPs. Interested MAPs can call in from all over the globe.

If you would like to read or hear more narratives from non-offending MAPs, information about my book is available on this website. An episode of This American Life featured a story from Luke Malone about a group of non-offending MAPs: you can listen here or read his Matter article on the subject here. The Prevention Podcast also features multiple interviews with MAPs: you can find the podcast at this link.

 

My friend/family member/partner told me they’re attracted to minors. Are there resources for me?

Absolutely. B4U-ACT has a Google Group for family and friends of MAPs. If you would like advice from MAPs for friends and family of MAPs, MAP Accuracy has a number of posts written for this purpose. Ethan Edwards of VirPed has also written an open letter to partners of people with attractions to children that may be helpful. You can find more help for family and friends of MAPs at MAP Resources.

 

Abolition

Wouldn’t abolishing police and prisons make us unsafe?

Police and prisons do not keep us us safe now. Under our current systems, violence is an everyday occurrence. Police and prisons are not equipped, or even designed, to address most of the things that harm us. In the United States, the police are under no obligation to protect us.

In fact, policing and prisons introduce harm in many communities, making them far less safe. These include Black and Indigenous communities, other communities of color, immigrants, queer individuals, people with disabilities, and low-income people, all of whom are targeted by policing violence, arrests, imprisonment, and detention at higher rates than the general population.

Abolitionists envision and are creating a world where we keep each other safe without surveillance, confinement, and other forms of systemic injustice.

 

Where can I go to learn more about abolition?