|
|
Media Coverage & News
on Controversial Sexual Abuse Research
American Psychiatric Association
Medical Director Critizes
Other APA'S Publication
of Pedophilia Study
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a letter dated May 27, Dr. Steven
Mirin, Medical Director for the American Psychiatric
Association, criticized the conclusions contained in a study
published by the American Psychological Association that
suggests sexual relationships between adults and children
are not as harmful as once believed. "It is encouraging to
see the American Psychiatric Association distance itself
from junk science. Children cannot consent to sex and any
study that does not accept this premise should be
dismissed," Janet Parshall, Family Research Council's
Chief Spokerson, said Monday. "The American Psychological
Association should wake up and smell the trash it
published."
Dr. Mirin's letter to FRC's Senior Director of Cultural
Studies Robert Knight thanked FRC for acknowledging
pedophilia as a mental disorder. He also expressed the
American Psychiatric Association's disagreement "with the
implications of the authors' conclusions" contained in the
journal article "A Meta-Analytic Examination of Assumed
Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples,"
Psychological Bulletin, 1998, Vol. 124, No. 1, 22-53. "From
a psychological perspective, sex between adult and child is
always abusive and exploitative because the adult always
holds the power in the relationship," wrote Dr. Mirin.
Therefore, "[a]cademic hair-splitting over whether the act
should be considered adult-child sex or child sexual abuse
. . is not in the public interest and obfuscates the
moral issues involved."
On May 12, Family Research Council joined Dr. Laura
Schlessinger and a coalition of Congressmen, child
protection advocates, and pedophilia victims to call on the
American Psychological Association to renounce the
aforementioned study. In response, the American
Psychological Association has defended the study's
publication.
"Pedophilia has no presentable face," said Parshall. "We
should treat it as the ugly demon it is and do everything we
can to preserve our children's innocence. Adult-child sex
is always reprehensible, always harmful and always forced."
Indeed, Dr. Mirin stated that his organization's "strongly
held position" is "that sex between adult and child can
never be condoned or considered 'normal' behavior."
"The American Psychological Association should realize it
stands alone in lending credence to the flawed study on
'adult-child sex' that it foolishly published in its
prestigious journal," Parshall concluded.
Top of Page ~ End of Page
Innocence Lost?
By Kelly Patricia O'Meara
Insight Magazine
Cover Story, Vol. 15, No. 22, 05/24/99
Excerpts:
Few thought the day would come when sexual abuse of a child might be called
"a positive experience." Not long ago it was unimaginable that, in an
attempt to bring legitimacy to criminal and immoral sexual acts, the term
"child molestation" would be restyled into value-neutral language such as
"adult-child sex."
. . . . But the American Psychological Association, or APA, published in
July 1998 in its prestigious Psychological Bulletin a study by three
professors -- [snip] which basically redefines "child sexual abuse."
Their conclusions further suggest that when negative effects do
occur they often are temporary, and that consensual sex between children
and adults, and adolescents and children, should be described in more
positive terms, such as "adult-child sex" and "adolescent-child sex."
Anthony Falzarano, director of P-Fox, a national organization of
homosexuals who are seeking "reparative therapy" and heterosexual
orientation, couldn't be more outraged by the study's findings. [snip]
"It is utterly incredible to think that a child can 'consent' to sex with
an adult. Believe me, there are lasting, harmful effects."
Falzarano is just one of a great many Americans who are expressing
shock and anger at the implications of the new APA advocacy.
Republican Rep. Matt Salmon of Arizona, who visibly was angered by
the APA's position, said, "It is beyond the realm of possibility that we're
even here today talking about this. But what are we to do when we have
groups like the APA who don't stand up and say that this is sick and
twisted. I don't want to understand pedophiles, I want to put them in
prison."
Resolutions of outrage also are being offered in the states. The
first of these passed the Alaska state Senate by a 20-0 vote.
On its Website, NAMBLA praises the APA's study as "good news."
Bob Flores, senior counsel for the National Law Center for Children
and Families, isn't surprised by NAMBLA's elation. "The report will
validate many pedophiles. It will make them think that what they're doing
to the child is actually helping them. This isn't brain surgery. Even the
village idiot understands what this study is suggesting."
Full news article at -- Insight Magazine
Top of Page ~ End of Page
Outrage Over Sex Abuse Study
June 10, 1999
Source: New York Times Online
Excerpts:
The American Psychological Association will weigh the potential consequences of publishing research after criticism of a study that concluded the long-term effects of child sexual
abuse are not as serious as many believe.
The study, which concluded that scientists should classify sex between adults and children depending on the "willingness" and age of the child, was published last July in the APA's Psychological Bulletin.
Critics said the study could be used to legitimize pedophilia. "We've never, ever had a reaction like this," said Raymond Fowler, chief executive officer of the APA.
The APA, which has been publishing journals for 106 years, said it will now consider the "social policy implications" of research it publishes.
Full news article at -- New York Times Online
Top of Page ~ End of Page
APA Admits Error
in Publishing Highly Criticized
"Adult-Child Sex" Study
June 10, 1999
Source: Press release by the Family Resource Council
Excerpts:
Backing away from a controversial article that had said child molestation with "willing" children may not be harmful, and may, in some cases, even be beneficial, the American Psychological Association unveiled Wednesday a resolution condemning all "sexual relations between children and adults."
"After much pressure, the APA has begun to undo the damage wrought by its publication of a badly conceived article that has been hailed by such groups as the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA)," said FRC's Chief Spokesperson Janet Parshall. "It's a good first step, but now the APA needs to root out the pro-pedophilic academicians who are trying to normalize child abuse. And the APA should write to NAMBLA and strongly urge them not to use this article as justification for molesting young boys."
"NAMBLA should stop celebrating and touting this trashed study as justification for their perverse sexual desires for young boys," said FRC Senior Director of Legal Policy Jan LaRue. "We especially appreciate that the APA's general counsel is preparing amicus brief materials that could be adapted for use in any court of law to challenge any efforts to use the data in this or any other study to justify, condone, or normalize sexual interactions of any sort between children and adults. This has tremendous legal significance."
In his letter, Dr. Fowler, who had earlier defended the article on national television as "a good study," now acknowledges that the article is "inflammatory" and includes opinions "inconsistent" with APA's policy on child protection issues. He admits that APA "failed" to "evaluate the article based on its potential for misinforming the public policy process."
Full news article at -- Family Resource Council
Top of Page ~ End of Page
Letter from APA Vice-President
Rejection of Rind Study Opinions and
Announcement of New Publication Procedures.
June 10, 1999
Source: Dr. Laura
Excerpts from Fowler, APA VP:
We acknowledge our social responsibility as a scientific organization
to take into account not only the scientific merit of articles
but also their implication for public policy. Some of the language
in the article, when examined from a public policy perspective is
inflammatory. Clearly, the article included opinions of the authors
that are inconsistent with the APA’s stated and deeply held position
on child welfare and protection issues. It is the position of the
Association that sexual activity between children and adults should
never be considered or labeled as harmless or acceptable. Furthermore,
it is the position of the Association that children cannot consent to
sexual activities with adults. These inconsistencies between the
conclusions the authors suggest and positions of the Association
should have caused us to evaluate the article based on its potential
for misinforming the public policy process. This is something we
failed to do, but will do in the future.
Additionally, concerns have been raised that the aforementioned
article and the inferences drawn from it could be viewed as support
for pedophilia and used by pedophiles as a legal defense. There is
no defense for pedophilia; it is always wrong. To ensure that the
APA’s position is known to the courts, public policy official and
parents, we are undertaking (new procedures and) actions.
 NOTE:
|
For the full letter from the APA Vice-President,
Raymond Fowler, to Rep. Tom Delay, including
detail on the new APA publication procedures,
link to Dr. Laura's website,
go to the "Monologue"
section, then click on the topic "Pedophilia: APA
Adopts New Procedure for Articles to be
Published."
|
Full news article at -- Family Resource Council
Top of Page ~ End of Page
Pedophilia Study
Raising a National Furor
Source: Philadelphia Daily News, by Stacey Burling
June 10, 1999
Excerpts
The APA is preparing a legal brief that summarizes studies showing the harmful effects of child sexual abuse in case defense lawyers try to use the most recent study to justify abuse.
Rhea Farberman, an APA spokeswoman, said these actions did not mean the APA would be "bullied" into not publishing scientifically valid, but controversial, studies. Nor does the APA statement mean that it is disavowing the Rind-Bauserman study, which was peer-reviewed before publication, she said.
Fowler said the APA does not endorse the idea of splitting child abuse into different categories, adding that not all abuse leads to the same results. "Child abuse is always bad," he said, "and some of the victims are hurt a lot worse than others."
Carolyn Adams, dean of the college of liberal arts at Temple, said Rind's work is a "legitimate, well-researched inquiry into an extremely important topic." "We do not condemn research for the conclusion it reaches".
But critics see the study as a slap at the seriousness of child abuse. They fear it will be used to defend pedophiles in court.
Rep. Matt Salmon (R., Ariz.) said the study's conclusions were just as "sick and twisted" as saying that women benefit from rape. "This is valueless to society, in my estimation," he said. "Pedophilia is not beneficial to children." His next step is to examine funding for the study and the universities where the researchers worked.
In interviews and e-mail correspondence, the authors said they never meant to condone child abuse or to imply that children can give legal consent to sex with adults.
The appearance of their study on the Man-Boy Love Web site is a sore point. The North American Man-Boy Love Association is touting the study on its Web site, as proof that "consensual intergenerational experiences of younger people are often quite positive and beneficial for the participants."
"I wish they wouldn't do that," Bauserman (research author) said. "I can only assume that they comb through the literature and anything they come up with that supports their viewpoint, they're going to use."
[ Editorial comment: "DUH"! ]
Full news article at -- Philadelphia Daily News
Top of Page ~ End of Page
3 Letters to the JAMA Editor
Source: JAMA Letters to the Editor - June 16, 1999
The first letter is from the authors of the
controversial "Rind" study. The next two letters are from:
2. John J. Potterat, BA (STD/HIV Programs, Colorado Springs)
and Stuart Brody, PhD (University of Tübingen, Germany);
3.
William C. Holmes, MD, MSCE (Univ. of Pennsylvania School of Medicine)and
Gail B. Slap, MD, MS (Childrens Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH).
Excerpts from the Holmes and Slap letter:
Rind et al also suggest that we failed to distinguish between willing and unwanted sexual abuse. Definitions of abusive events go beyond straightforward determinations of willingness. Is an 8-year-old boy willing if he does not say no?
Rind et al also state that "mental health professionals have been too quick to conclude that 'taboo' sex causes harm," noting masturbation and homosexuality as examples. We would argue that there is a vast difference between the sexual behavior of a consenting adult vs that of a coerced minor. Masturbation and homosexuality relate to an individual's behavior, desire, or orientation. Abuse is the result of an individual's will and behavior imposed on another. It is alarming that these investigators believe that abuse has no negative connotation other than cultural taboo.
Letters to the Editor in full at -- JAMA
Top of Page ~ End of Page
Critics Say Report on Child Sex Abuse
Trivializes Its Effects
Source: New York Times, by Erica Goode
June 13, 1999
Excerpts
Bauserman said in a telephone interview that although he and his
colleagues expected that their research might evoke some discussion in
academic circles, the public outcry came as a surprise.
"We certainly did not expect a controversial public reaction like
this," he said. "Our feeling simply was that it's going to be read by
researchers in the field, and that they're going to be able to
evaluate whether it makes useful points or not."
Dr. David Spiegel, a psychiatrist at Stanford University and a member
of the leadership council, criticized the study, saying it had serious
methodological flaws and that the researchers "use meta-analysis the
way a drunk uses a lamppost -- for support, rather than illumination."
Spiegel, who with other researchers hopes to publish a critique of the
journal article, said many other studies indicated that sexually
abused children can suffer severe consequences. Studies have linked
sexual abuse to post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders,
increased risk of suicide, and gastrointestinal problems.
Fowler said the major finding of the study had been overlooked amid
all the hubbub. "Horrible as it is that some adults abuse children,"
he said, "it's good to know that there's a chance for them" to
recover.
Top of Page ~ End of Page
House Condemns Child Sex Abuse Study
Source: AP, by Jim Abrams
July 12, 1999
Excerpts
The House on Monday unanimously condemned a 1998 article in an American Psychological Association journal that concluded that some victims of child sexual abuse suffered little long-term consequences.
The House voted 355-0 to denounce the study in the Psychological Bulletin, one of the APA's 37 journals, that Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., sponsor of the resolution, called the "emancipation proclamation of pedophiles."
"Those who excuse this evil conduct, particularly those in positions of influence, are also pretty low on the food chain and deserve the harshest possible condemnation," Salmon said.
But he also praised the APA for its strong stand against child sexual abuse and noted that the resolution had been revised to reflect the APA position.
Return to "Controversial Study" Main Page
Top of Page
|
