Finding a R E A L solution to Paedophilia

This will probably seem a tad odd at first glance; but hear (read) me out.

I might seem a little weird that I am dismayed by our communities (nationally and internationally) response to the issue of paedophilia, but sadly it's through first hand experience of surviving the horror of a partner with the mental illness of paedophilia.

I can't write them all off. I do believe that punishment is an essential element of a 'community response' to paedophiles who act on their mental illness of paedophilia, however I also believe that our health/mental health systems fail these sufferers of the mental illness that is paedophilia.

Paedophilia is a mental illness, one that requires treatment, and even more sadly without treatment no amount of locking them away will end the epidemic that is paedophilia in our communities.

It isn't a crime to suffer from the Mental Illness of Paedophilia, it only becomes a crime when the sufferer acts on the urges/behaviours which result from their illness.

We need to learn more about this disease and find a cure - probably more urgently than we need to find a cure for cancer. I'm serious.

Currently our justice systems response to the actions of paedophiles is merely one of triage, not treatment and a search for a cure or at the very least a safe treatment program - safe for the sufferers and safe for the community.

Our revenge/vengeful approach to 'justice' in relation to those who act on their illness of paedophilia sickens me. The crimes are sickening, but so to is our collective response to dealing with the problem.

A great majority of of the sufferers of the Mental Illness of Paedophilia were themselves victims of others who suffer the same Mental Illness. There are those who simply appear to have no reason to have contracted the disease, but that too requires research and understanding and a solution.

I hate that we simply write off people completely for their crimes, I hate it even more when those we label as criminals are sufferers of an horrific mental illness that we as a community fail to treat, or even demand be treated.

I have been working on a new model for the passage of paedophilia related crime through our Justice Systems. Currently my thinking is that we need a hybrid system much like the Qld. Drug Courts. A justice system that incorporates both Criminal Justice and Mental Health agencies, that shields victims from the trauma of the Criminal Justice system and provides a platform for the sufferers of the mental illness of Paedophilia to safely take responsibility for their actions, acknowledge their illness and seek treatment for that illness.

Our current system offers no incentive whatsoever for these mentally ill people to firstly admit their illness and secondly to enter into treatment.

While we merely place band-aids on the 'victims' we fail to treat the cause. The epidemic continues unabated because of our vengeful, shallow and flawed response to this illness.

Remember - ANGER - is ALWAYS a secondary emotion, NEVER a primary one. We need to move past the ANGER and deal with the real emotions underneath the anger; fear, betrayal, pain, grief - and then act to find a solution that actually works towards minimising the occurrence of these crimes in our world.

REMEMBER it is not a crime to suffer from the Mental Illness of Paedophilia, it only becomes a crime when the sufferer acts on the urges the illness creates.