pedophilia is, as you've stated, the difference between consenting adults and innocent children. Children often lack the judgement and/or the power to draw and enforce their own boundaries. They will not always understand when an adult is wrong, and even when they do, they will not always feel it their place to say so. And even when they do, they will not always have the power to stop the adult.
And no, I do not think that going through the court system hurts the child more than the act itself. They will know, at some point in their development, that what happened to them was wrong, and was a very hurtful and purposeful violation of their innocence as a child. Someone should have protected them. Failing that, someone should have stood up for them after the fact. A lack of BOTH of those events will likely be the worst of all cases. Going through the courts will, at least, be someone standing up for them after the fact, and someone is letting that child know that what happened to them was wrong, and we are seeking to punish the one who did this to you. And that, at least, may help to heal.
I would think it very dysfunctional of society to sweept the problem under the rug and say, "Well the kid was hurt, but it would be more trouble for hir to set it right, so let's just forget it." That would be a horrible thing. |
