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A recurrent implication within MAPs scholarship is that child sexual abuse perpetration by pedophiles is driven, to a significant degree, by the stigmatization of pedophilia. A proportion of child sex offenses were explained in the reviewed papers as the behavior of an oppressed sexual minority denied access to necessary mental health care and driven to abuse children by shame and stigma. It is undoubtedly true that the availability of early intervention services for pedophiles have been curtailed by disgust at child sexual abuse, and these services have an important role to play in prevention responses (Austin & Salter, 2023). However, the framing of child sex offenses as the “acting out” of oppressed pedophiles is not only an extraordinarily sympathetic account of sexual violence against children, but it is a poor fit with the forensic record, which has documented the prevalence of premeditated, manipulative grooming and other deliberative patterns of behavior with a systematic focus on overcoming barriers to abuse and enforcing obedience and (continued in next image)

silence in children (e.g., Winters & Jeglic, 2017). The displacement of responsibility for abuse from those who commit it, to those who abjure it, is an unusual feature of MAPs scholarship, and it is difficult to find parallel examples in other areas of prevention scholarship. For example, although domestic violence is common, it is a stigmatized behavior. Accordingly, men who experience the impulse to victimize an intimate partner typically keep these feelings secret, and experience significant shame (Gadd, 2002). While efforts to prevent violence against women include efforts to engage early with such men, domestic violence prevention does not promote the “destigmatization” of the impulse to physical or sexual violence. To the contrary, public health and social marketing campaigns have sought to reinforce social norms against the acceptability of domestic violence (Jewkes et al., 2015).

MAPS scholarship did not present a coherent agenda for the “destigmatization” of pedophilia. Few would disagree with the suggestion that media coverage of pedophilia and child sexual abuse should be nuanced and sensitive. Ischebeck et al. (2021) interviewed journalists to explore their knowledge and attitudes toward sexual interest in children, and found that their respondents were well informed about pedophilia, and held balanced views about people with a sexual interest in children. Their study does not support one-dimensional characterizations of the media and cultural landscape as entirely hostile toward pedophiles. Attempts by MAPs scholars to evaluate interventions designed to destigmatize sexual interest in children and change public attitudes have found that these efforts are ineffective and can result in an increase in negative attitudes (Jara & Jeglic, 2021; McKillop & Price, 2023).

Furthermore, evidence suggests it is possible to provide non-judgmental and meaningful treatment for pedophiles without pursuing the “de-stigmatisation” of pedophilia within a given social or cultural context. Examples can be drawn from the service Stop It Now! in the United Kingdom, which receives a high level of service engagement and interest each year from people concerned about their sexual feelings and behavior toward children, within a social context in which paedopihlia remains stigmatized (Grant et al., 2019). Interestingly, and relevant to the use of the term ”MAPs,” the same program emphasizes the importance of using correct terminology on the subject of child sexual abuse and pedophilia, rather than “hiding” behind alternative language and euphemisms (Hudson, 2017, p. 105).

A Review of Academic Use of the Term "Minor Attracted Persons" - PubMed

Although it originated within online pro-pedophile groups, the term "minor attracted person" (MAPs) has been adopted by some academic resear