B4U-ACT was established in 2003 as a 501(c)(3) organization with the following purposes:

To publicly promote services and resources for self-identified individuals (adults and adolescents) who are sexually attracted to children and seek such assistance,
To educate mental health providers regarding the approaches helpful for such individuals,
To develop a pool of providers in Maryland who agree to serve these individuals and abide by B4U-ACT's Principles and Perspectives of Practice, and
To educate the citizens of Maryland regarding issues faced by these individuals.


taken from the b4u act website b4uact.org/about.htm

It would appear that getting the appropriate help is what they are after and quipping those charged with providing such help with the skills needed is also what they are after.

As with any emotive issue it is difficult to discuss as the gut reaction is revulsion and not a lot of sympathy or empathy for those we are repulsed by - I cannot be sure that there is no nefarious agenda - but so far browsing the site it does not appear to want to 'normalise' attraction to children - rather to attempt to treat it - if such a thing is possible.

Another quote
To clarify, here are B4U-ACT's positions on the issues:

To ensure the protection of children, we must end the secrecy and lack of knowledge surrounding the attraction to children and adolescents. B4U-ACT's goals are to make accurate information about it widely available, and to make research-based mental health services available to people with such feelings of attraction. The mental health of minor-attracted people ensures the well-being of children. B4U-ACT works toward these goals by holding workshops for clinicians, speaking to university classes, providing peer support, disseminating information through email, and facilitating other means of discussion and collaboration among researchers, clinicians, and minor-attracted people.

B4U-ACT's name refers to the fact that it is crucially important for minor-attracted people, therapists, researchers, and citizens to think before they act in ways that could harm children, society, or minor-attracted people. Obviously, minor-attracted people should abide by the law because of the potential risk to children and themselves of doing otherwise. In addition, all people should recognize that no one chooses to be attracted to children, that these feelings typically begin in adolescence, that many, perhaps most, do not act on these feelings, and that minor-attracted people can and do live law-abiding lives and contribute positively to their communities. Therefore, vilifying them for their feelings is unjust and harmful; it forces them into lives of secrecy and prevents them from getting help when needed, ultimately putting children at risk

Which reminds me of what i said in the empathy thread thor. If you isolate people you're pushing them toward offending. Imo that makes you complicit in their offence.

martg wrote: The poor love's besotted with me, aren't you Gilly

Rounding them up for what Martg, will Brian Gerrish be leading the rounding up?

Guevarista wrote:
What the fuck is your problem?
I don't give a shit about Brian Fucking Gerrish.
You just like to put people in little boxes so you think you understand them and can attack people for the beliefs you have imposed on them.
You know fuck all about me so fuck off and leave me alone

Guevarista wrote:
The other posts on here require more time than I have available just now to respond to. But this one ^...



This is a mature discussion, Gue, where I'm finding the observations of most people to be both helpful and influential. Either own up to your aim being to disrupt any friendly, constructive exchange of ideas, back off with the antagonism, or kindly buzz off and don't ruin my thread. Thank you.

Dub warning.

Quit yer shit gue or i will come round and randomly poke characters on your keyboard as you type...


Mind you that will probably improve your posts

dubmeup wrote:
I love it when you get all manly and stuff...

So is being a 'minor attracted person' actually a mental illness or not? If it is, that implies that it can be managed and/or treated. If that's the case, people could be prevented from offending or re-offending. Mind you, they make up mental illnesses anyway. If being a pedophile is just a sexual preference like being gay or straight, I don't see how they can get people to change that.

is interesting docu.
some of them have real fucking problems and live in denial, and some actually realize they have a problem and take extreme measures to try to be allowed back into society.
makes me think its less of a mental illness and more of an obssesion or impulsive disorder. i mean where do you draw the line at calling something a mental illness?
we dont quite understand their motivations, so do what to them, experiments, electroshocks, lock them in a mad house, put them in jail?
no pity for pedos.
but thor you explain it well, i guess for people who realize they have problem and want help, it shows responsibility for people who cant control themself. if 1 kid is spared it is a success

Thanks for the vid bat, Louis Theroux makes some interesting documentaries. Will have to watch later though.

There was a thread about empathy and pedophiles came up. Empathising with people who have issues like this doesn't involve any fluffy feelings, being nice or condoning what they do in any way. What it does mean is being able to see things from their point of view. This is actually useful if you're going to prevent kids from becoming victims in the first place.

Just having a knee jerk reaction because pedophiles are bad won't stop them from molesting kids, but if you can look at it in a scientific way, you have a chance of finding out how to stop them, and that will keep children safe. Prevention is always better than trying to help someone through being molested. If someone can come forward and say that they have sexual feelings towards kids and they want help to prevent them from ever acting on these feelings, isn't it irresponsible to turn them away in disgust?

As bats says, if using this approach prevents any children from being attacked, it's got to be worth it.

Lots of good comments.

This is what I'm interested in...
LesleyPumpshaft wrote:
...because I do have doubts, particularly in view of this exerpt from the OP quote...

“Stig­ma­tiz­ing and stereo­typ­ing minor-​attracted peo­ple inflames the fears of minor-​attracted peo­ple, men­tal health pro­fes­sion­als and the pub­lic, with­out con­tribut­ing to an under­stand­ing of minor-​attracted peo­ple of the issue of child sex­ual abuse.”

And while I also still have fears of the danger attached to destigmatizing something that's morally wrong, it's not a knee-jerk reaction, but a feeling that some things are right to carry stigma, for obvious reasons. Removing it can maybe contribute towards acceptance - a society with no moral boundaries (there aren't many left now as it is). That's the authorities and their motives that I distrust. Is it too over the top to imagine them creating a world where we'd be liable to be penalised by the law for expressing prejudice against paedo's, (paedophiliaism!)

But if progress can actually be made in understanding and controlling these urges, then I'd have to say I'm in favour of it.

So it's confusing. I don't actually believe they know themselves whether it's a mental illness or not.

I hope nobody thinks though that I'd class someone who's attracted to minors, and seeks help to avoid acting on it, into the same category as those I feel undeserving of empathy. It's a different kettle of fish altogether.

But then, neither do I think all paedophiles are tortured by guilt & self-loathing either.

But having said that, someone commented that they can't help who they're attracted to. That might be true. It also might not be totally true all the time. Let's face it, you get married men with kids of their own who are paedophiles. They can obviously have a 'normal' relationship if it suits them, so I'm not inclined to think in terms of, "Poor them, their wives aren't enough, & they can't help wanting to take kids too", because I think they can help it.

I 'can't help' finding a bloke who lives down the road attractive. I can stop myself leaping on him though.

Ah, discussion without slanging. Just one of the reasons I like coming here.

The last 4 posts have articulated my thoughts better than I could have hoped to do. saves a lot of typing as well

Thank you

“We are oft to blame in this, 'Tis too much proved, that with devotion's visage And pious action we do sugar o'er The devil himself.”

Don't get this Thread , must be tired drunk , pfft
Send em all over here if they like, the're soft on em, here Poor Johnny was neglegted when he was a toddler , dropped on his head he was bit neglected he was, here johhny do some community serivice say you're sorry Don't do that to the littlelys
again and we'll give you a house to live in right next to a Primary school, True story, just changed the name