Delphine Lecompte

Delphine Lecompte (born 22 January 1978) is a Flemish / Belgian poet and columnist. Her debut poetry collection, De dieren in mij [The animals in me], won the annual literary award for the best debut poetry collection in Dutch (C. Buddingh' Prize, 2010), and a second award in 2011.

In relation to MAPs, Lecompte wrote a letter to Humo magazine in August 2021, titled "Pedophilia Dwells in Each of Us." The letter made headlines for its sensitive comments on pedophilia and artistic freedom, and her employer at the time responded by stating they did not endorse her views but recognized her right to free speech. Lecompte argued that pedophiles were a "vulnerable, marginalized group that has been treated for years like sickly scum by the crowd of decent moralists." She also referred to the fact that "most pedophiles never commit pedophilic acts and that every human being is sometimes attracted to innocence and youth", fearing that a witch hunt against pedophiles could lead to more "pedophile excesses and child pornography, which we all want to avoid." She added "It seems wiser to me to learn to know and accept the pedophile. And to accept that pedophilia resides in each of us."

On May 6th, 2021, the Dutch Newspaper "Propria Cures," latin for "Mind Your Own Business," published an issue in their newspaper on free speech, specifically in relation to pedophilia. The chief guest editor for this edition was none other than activist Marthijn Uittenbogaard, including contributions from

Lecompte's contribution was no. 8, titled "The gardener and the five-year-old child," which appears to be an autobiographical narrative account of Lecompte's own positively experienced sexual feelings in childhood. In the piece, she writes: