McCartan, K. (2008) Current understandings of paedophilia and the ...

popular puntativeness in regard to paedophilia (Thomas, 2005). The Government
continues to develop new policies and legal changes in regard to paedophilia,
including; limited public disclosure of sex offender information to parents/guardians,
a review of the use of satellite tracking to monitor high-risk sex offenders, an
increase in the use of drug treatments with high risk offenders, compulsory polygraph
tests, a strengthening of the sex offenders register and MAPPA system, as well as
promoting community awareness of child protection strategies (Home Office, 2007).
This suggests that although there is a great deal of ambiguity surrounding
understandings of paedophilia in modern society, both the government and
professionals are attempting to counteract this major modern crisis. Despite this
professional and policy response to paedophilia, how the public understands and
perceives paedophilia will also impact upon how the current crisis is dealt with by
society.
The current crisis of paedophilia and public attitudes
Research suggests that both public and professional knowledge and understanding of
paedophilia has grown in recent years (Van Dem, 2001: McCartan, 2004), although in
saying that paedophilia has simultaneously become a major social crisis (Greer, 2002;
Silverman & Wilson, 2002; Cohen, 2003; McCartan, 2004; McAlinden, 2006A).
Hence, raising the question; why has the current crisis surrounding paedophilia
developed when paedophilia has existed for centuries? This chapter will now attempt
to address this issue by examining what the current public perception of paedophilia
is, the social construction of paedophilia, paedophilia as a social risk and a moral
panic, as well as looking at the role of the media in the establishment of the current
crisis.
Public perceptions of paedophilia
In modern society nothing angers and provokes the public as much as paedophilia
(Silverman & Wilson, 2002), with paedophilia becoming „a severe public health
problem of staggering proportions‟ (McDonald Wilson Bradford, 2000; 248),
society‟s darkest taboo (Cloud, 2002) and a major modern moral panic (Cohen, 2002;
McAlinden, 2006A). When society becomes aware of threats to their children they
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