Is Britain really awash with paedophiles, or does the media 'play it up'?

[sp1814]

Another day, another paedophile story:

http://www.thisislond...-hotel-faces-court.do

Is it any wonder that parents don't allow their kids out on the streets for fear of the next sexual predator?

Are we really living in a country with more than it's fair share of paedophiles, or is it just 'good copy' for the print media?

[ummmm]

Men are pervs :-)

[Hazel104]

Why, yet again, has a post about paedophiles been hijacked to discuss homosexuality?

AOG you answered the question, so what exactly was the aim of your next much longer point in relation the question?

[bobjugs12]

I agree with most of whats been said about media hype, and hysterical parents.

If anything, kids are safer now than they were 50 years ago. Back then, that sort of thing tended to be pushed under the carpet, and in the worst cases children were punished for being abused. Nowadays, the ability of a child to seek help is much greater, and the public awareness is much higher.

[Zeuhl]

Other countries seem less paranoid than us.

Like WBA I have had weird experiences when visiting my kids' schools

But when abroad i have been with germans and scandinavians and everybody - adults and children - has stripped off to go swimming.

When I mentioned (half jokingly) to one of the german parents that having a naked adult 'stranger' around one's naked children would cause a fuss in england, he honestly didn't understand what i was talking about.

I felt rather sad about our self-inflicted guilt and neuroses.
.

[ummmm]

And lets hope that will change Zeuhl.....

[Answerprancer]

It does *not* say "a lot about the middle east" - it's also legal to have sex with animals in Denmark - so you can stick that 'theory'.

[birdie1971]

I find it strangely amusing that no sooner is this topic mentioned, comments about homosexual men rapidly follow. It's as if some people equate paedophilia with homosexual men and think that the two conditions are inextricably linked.

It's very strange because the statistics tell a very different story. Almost all paedophiles are straight men and straight women. The incidence of homosexual paedophiles is absolutely minuscule.


It also seems to be a peculiarly British fear – that of the predatory paedophile. I've travelled in Europe on numerous occasions are there simply does not seem to be this intrinsic fear of strangers interacting with kids. I think that speaks volumes about the British press and the sensationalistic, scaremongering way the news is reported.