Participation in Research As an Activist Tool – the Example of the Czech and Slovak Paedophile Community

Cases of sexual attacks on children are in the popular media discourse almost exclusively connected to paedophilia. Popular media thus contributes to the emergence of moral panic saying that all child molesters are paedophiles and every person with a paedophile preference is a (potential) child abuser. Members of the paedophile movement oppose this discourse - they argue that most paedophiles do not abuse children and many sexual attacks on children are committed by non-paedophile persons. Realising the fact that a deviant label is socially attached to the individuals with paedophile preference, they strategically prefer to choose defensive, not offensive ways to change public opinion. They do not act as “legislators”, but “interpreters” (using Zygmunt Bauman’s terminology). While legislators struggle to impose their supposedly expert world-view on the society, interpreters try to communicate, translate and explain their ideas (their understanding of paedophilia in this case) to the public arguing that “common paedophiles” do not molest children. Research among members of the Czech and Slovak Paedophile Community (internet based mutual aid fellowship of paedophile persons) reveals that one of the main motivation of the common members of the community for their active, voluntary, and even enthusiastic participation in my research was their aspiration to change the public and media discourses on paedophilia. My research activities have been seen by them as a part of their interpreting strategies and they hope to use results of the research as an activist tool for contesting the stereotypes and moral panics about paedophilia.