Child pornography has always been a disgusting topic, and the topic always goes back to the question: who would do such a thing? Well, apparently many men in the world. Professor Margo Kaplan stated “By some estimates, 1 percent of the male population continues, long after puberty, to find themselves attracted to prepubescent children..” One percent of the male population is over 1 million men who are attracted to children. Now, most of these men do not act on this lust, but some do, and that is where the disorder is diagnosed. 

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines pedophilia as “an intense and recurrent sexual interest in prepubescent children, and a disorder if it causes a person marked distress or interpersonal difficulty or if the person acts on his interests.” With pedophilia being a disorder, how do we combat it? 

Sex robots that look and ‘act’ like children have been more and more popular in the pedophile community. Some of these robots even have settings that simulate rape, and use audio of a child like voice to say “no” or “stop.” This is disguisting and dangerous, and could lead to actual assault on children. Many arrests on pedophiliacs were made in which child sex robots were found along with other pornographic images in their bedrooms. Many studies were done asking the question on if these robots would actually help pedophiliacs push down their lust for real children, and the usual response was a strong no. Yet still, many robots were manufactured and they were used, but for a pedophiliac, they always will want more. 

The robots actually made them want a real child, as the pleasure sometimes wouldn’t be enough for them, and so they’d go hunt the real thing. It’s an ugly truth, but that is why Congress moved forward and passed a bill that banned the possession of these silicone distractions. The bill also stops the manufacture and importing of these robots into the country, but that usually has not stopped them. Most manufacturers label them as models or mannequins to bypass security, allowing the robot to come into the possession of the pedophiliac.

There are many forms of therapy and treatment to help someone who suffers from the pedophilia disorder to at least tame their sexual desires, but most do not seek out this help, and it’s something in the end that cannot be changed. The other factor for not seeking help is the consequences, legal or social. Most pedophiliacs won’t take that risk and instead secretly complete their sexual desires through robots. If the discrimination wasn’t there and these people with this mental disorder could seek out help freely, it would be much easier to control the people who are more lustful than others. 

More people look at pedophilia as a choice, but not a disorder, and that is the fault that is preventing pedophiliacs from seeking help. It is an understable mindset though, as seeing someone who suffers from pedophilia probably will leave a bad taste in your mouth from even thinking about that person again, but it is reality and it needs to be helped. If people do not start accepting and helping those who suffer, we will just see more illegal sex robots in our country, such as the arrest at the Canadian border, where fourty two sex dolls with childlike dimensions were seized and traced to China and Japan where they are being manufactured. The truth is, these people need help, and we need to accept the disorder they have and help them come past it.