Pedophilia: social, legal and medical aspects

Abstract

Sexual abuse against children causes a real public response that supports active discussions on the problem of sexual actions against minors both in the legislation, where new legal norms are proposed to regulate and prevent such offensive behavior, and in the medical community, since in some cases the mechanisms of such offenses are associated with specific forms of mental pathology. The aim of this article was the evaluation of the medical, legal and social aspects associated with pedophilia and its role in criminal sexual behavior. Materials and methods. This review included the most influential works in the field of sexology and sexual pathology, official materials of the World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association, legal and medical statistical reports. In the result this review reveals the place of pedophilia in mental disorders, the necessity of taking into account current data on the prevalence of abnormal sexual interests in population for work with it, as well as the importance of considering sexual crimes against minors in a broader context, the need to develop psychotherapeutic and preventive approaches.