This essay is written in response to statements of the Catholic League president specifically on the matter of homosexuality. I have the feeling that people may play the numbers game according to their own prior convictions. I think the problem here is not distinguishing within the wide range of homosexual behavior similar to the wide range of heterosexual behavior. In quoting the John Jay College of Criminal Justice report stating that 81% of the victims were male and accordingly perpetrated by homosexuals, there are no distinctions made within homosexuality. Thus it tars with the same brush all homosexuals.
Further, when the report says that the majority of the victims were post-pubescent, this can be misleading because of the particular authority being employed. The mental health community in the United States and agencies in many other parts of the world, use the standard manual of mental health diagnosis – namely the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV TR. In this manual’s criteria for pedophilia, the ages given to be so qualified are 13 and under. When we examine the John Jay Report in the breakdown sections of age (male and female), we find 6% age 7 or less; 16% age 8-10; and 38% age 11-13. Thus 60% according to the DSM IV TR meet the criteria for pedophilia, These perpetrators were both heterosexual and homosexual pedophiles with a majority of homosexual orientation. These figures address neither the entire heterosexual or homosexual population. The majority of the general population of heterosexuals and homosexuals chose an age appropriate sexual object.
