Paedophilia: a Scourge of Society

Inferno, Virgil pointing out to Myhrra - Gustave Doré 

"The child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation. He shall not be the subject of traffic, in any form." -- Art 9 of the Universal  Declaration of the Rights of the Child

Paedophilia is a scourge of society.

We have all recently read or heard about the several sting operations - around the world - that saved hundreds of children from paedophile rings and, I would like to take this moment to commend forces like the FBI (working with local law enforcement units), Europol, Interpol, and every single police force in the world, for their dedication in fighting this horrid crime. 

"The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration." -- Art 2 idem 

The law must go deeper to ensure all children develop in a normal manner and "in conditions of freedom and dignity". Paedophilia is an assault to children's development and dignity. There should be a legal provision to grant the authorities the power to carry out pre-emptive measures against paedophiles, for example:

• Taking pictures of children in school yards, without parental consent and out of a criminal investigation context, should be illegal.
• Participating in online fora discussing what they would/could do to children should be considered evidence of intent and conspiracy to commit a crime (because in such venues people are encouraged to either commit crimes [i.e. possession and production of child pornography, which involves many other crimes like kidnapping, sexual assault, torture, drug & human trafficking etc] or fulfil their fantasies [i.e. kidnap, torture, sexual molestation, assault etc] and then share their experiences and recordings online).
• Disseminating literature on how to abuse children while circumventing the law should not be protected by the right to freedom of expression, inasmuch as doing so will result in the violation of the right to "in all circumstances be among the first to receive protection and relief." (art 8 idem)

It is understandable, however, the difficulties of preparing pre-emptive legislation due to the presence of paedophiles in the political, judicial, legislative and business universes, who often lobby against drafting such bills in order to protect themselves and their deviant associates. Notwithstanding, other people present in those very same spheres should strive to protect children with their utmost might, so that the world knows that society doesn't make an utter mockery of the Declaration of the Rights of Children. 

Paedophilia is not trivial. Paedophilia is abuse. Paedophilia is a hideous crime. Paedophilia should be compared to murder because paedophiles kill children inside, they pervert their soul forever. 

A question to those who like to invoke the bill of rights when discussing these issues: in order to protect the rights of a paedophile should we violate those of a child?