In a parliamentary hearing on the sexual abuse of children certain MEP's made comments that linked paedophilia to homosexuality. One such Member of the European Parliament for Lithuania, Vytautas Landsbergis, claimed that children should be protected from "homosexual propaganda" and "homophilic paedophilia'
The infuriating aspect of these ridiculous claims is that the MEP's in question had nothing to back them up. On the London Metropolitan Universities Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit site they have a common misunderstandings section that addresses this issue:
"Although there are sexual abuse rings and individual abusers who target large numbers of children, most children are abused by men they know. Most child sex offenders are married men, who have sex with their wives and sometimes other adult women - they are children's fathers, uncles, teachers as well as family friends and neighbours. These men do not fit the clinical definition of 'paedophile' - adults whose sexual interest is limited to children - nor do they fit most peoples perceptions of a 'paedophile' - a loner, someone with poor social skills. So most child sexual abusers are not 'paedophiles' in any clear or obvious sense.
Many people want to be able to identify a category of men who are more likely to abuse children. In fact, there is no 'type' of man who is an abuser - they come from every class, professional, racial and religious background. They are heterosexual and homosexual. They are also often very skilled at manipulating people and situations, at creating trust and respect within their community and profession, for example as clergy or youth workers.."
So as you can see paedophiles can be of any race or sexuality and being a homosexual and a child abuser certainly do not go hand in hand.
