Pedophilia Screening in Technosecurity Culture The Construction of Dangerous Sub-populations in the Name of Security

Abstract

ABSTRACTPedophilia numbers among the prominent fears of western societies. Politicians have argued in favor of mass surveillance, claiming it is required to catch pedophiles, while a growing commercial market exists for ‘pedophilia screenings’. Sexology defines pedophilia as a sexual preference for prepubescent children, meaning that prior sex offenses are not essential for a diagnosis. The diagnostic criteria have changed little since pedophilia was first described as a psychiatric phenomenon, but there have been vast changes in the ways in which pedophilia is diagnosed. One aspect that has however remained the same is the persistent belief that pedophilia is an innate trait of an individual; this makes pedophilia discourses compatible with current risk discourses. Today's diagnostic tools include a range of technological procedures. This trend of deploying technologically enhanced diagnostics is indicative of a shift towards a technosecurity logic within the project of seeking physical evidence to demonstrate sexual desire. At the same time, this shift is co-constitutive of current risk discourses regarding child abuse. Technosecurity-based attempts to identify pedophiles may re-normalize the notion that ‘dangerous sub-populations’ exist that deserve only limited rights, thus paving the way for erosion of the legal system and of democratic principles.