Age Difference

I'm doing my best here to write an empathic response because I do understand that there's some research (though far from conclusive) that pedophilia may be hardwired. And this creates a conundrum for the psychology field, the legal system, and society as a whole.

The insurmountable problem with your argument is the flawed idea of the younger person being able to give informed consent. As a society, we've recognized that children and teens are not capable of giving certain types of consent. We know from neuropsychology that many of the reason and critical thought functions required to make certain types of decisions aren't fully intact until the late teen years, and, in some cases, into the early 20s.

We've decided, as a society, that the age of 18 represents a pretty reasonable middle ground for a point by which many people will have the necessary critical analysis skills to make important decisions. Of course, some have that capacity at 15 or 16, others won't have it until 24 or 25, and some may never develop it at all. But none of that really matters, because society has essentially come to a consensus that 18 is where the line is.

Additionally, because of the inherent power imbalance between an older person and a younger person, the playing field isn't even. Most people 15 or younger (with rare exceptions) have been conditioned, through school and parenting, to expect that adults are trustworthy sources of information, so a pedophile that has an agenda of wanting to have a romantic relationship is inherently in a conflict; s/he is seen as an authority figure (regardless of how the relationship is introduced or framed), and many younger teens will also attach a desire to please to the inherent authority. Both of these lead to an untenable position where the older person isn't an objective source of information, and the younger person can't make an informed decision due to lack of unbiased information.

On a separate note, there is also some evidence that, at least in some cases, pedophilic attractions do respond to some types of therapy and at least some pedophiles are able to develop healthy and natural attractions for people their own age. So obviously, if we can solve the problem in a way where the pedophile is able to function in a societally-recognized normal way, with attractions to people his or her own age, that's the best outcome for everyone, and the one that probably is the simplest solution to try first. Yes, there are some interesting philosophical and ethical issues raised, but ultimately, society has always looked out first for the needs of our children, and this situation should be no exception to that.

There's a laundry list of other reasons why it simply isn't healthy for the younger person to be in a relationship with an older person, but the above alone pretty much are the dealbreakers, so nothing else really matters.

 

So apparently you ignored everything I wrote with a simple 'well, *I* think it should be *this* way.' That's always helpful when trying to have a meaningful discussion.

 

The above is correct. The technical term for one attracted to teens is "ephebophile", but "pedophile" is often used as a shorthand for anyone who is attracted to anyone under the age of consent.