Debate Guide: All child molesters are pedophiles

"Sexual abusers of children are primarily attracted to their targets"

Or...

"Child sex abuse and pedophilia are partners in crime. The latter is the cause of almost all cases of the former"

Only around 2 - 10% of child molesters qualify as true pedophiles [It is estimated that only 2 to 10 percent of child sexual abuse perpetrators meet the regular criteria for pedophilia. (Kinsey-Report, Lautmann, Brongersma, Groth)]. Other sources seem to back this up A B. The vast majority of offenders are non - pedophiles who have been driven to offend by their personal situations. For example, situational offending is partiularly common in crimes of incest involving children. Possible causes include the removal or disablement of adult partners and the inavailability of alternative adults.

Getting back to the 2 - 10% figure, whilst by extension, one could speculatively argue that child sex offending is lower among pedophiles (compare these percentages to the apparent pedophile frequency in the Kent State Study), it is worth noting that most observers attribute a higher number of infringements per captia to pedophilic offenders, as opposed to situational offenders. This may be because pedophiles are driven by their attraction, as opposed to their situation. Another implication of relationships that are primarily driven by love as opposed to a need for sex, power or the breaking of a taboo, is that the relationships will tend to have better outcomes. Put simply, pedophiles are far more 'successful' sex offenders in both numerical and ethical terms.