truland@wizvax.net (David W. Truland) writes: :The harm caused to a child by what you call "consentual" [sic] sex :with an adult can be as damaging and traumatic as forcible rape.
....and then goes on to write:
:Have you reviewed any of the psychological literature on the subject? :Probably not. I bet you stay as far away from mental health :professionals as you can.
It would appear that you don't "practice what you preach." As a Mental Health Professional for over 25 years, I have both reviewed and contributed to the psychological literature on the subject. Your "harm" thesis is contradicted by virtually every study of the issue in the last 50 years. Those studies have shown that the potential for trauma is inversely proportional to volition. In other words, simple consent (as opposed to "legal" consent or other types "children" are supposedly unable to give) makes the most difference between damaging and non- damaging incidents. If the younger partner initiates or freely agrees to the act, there is little chance of direct trauma. If the act is imposed on the younger partner by way of force, authority, emotional blackmail, etc. there is significant potential for harm. If the child trys to (or does) initiate such an act and is met with disapproval or other punishment, there is a significant potential for harm; thus the would-be protectors (such as you) are likely to cause more problems than the supposedly dangerous individuals.
There is a possibility of retroactive trauma by way of historical revision or "reframing" ("you must have..., he must have..., she must have..."), but the harm from such revision appears to be equally severe in those cases where nothing happened ("False memories") as in those cases where something did happen.