Paedophilia is a problem. It isn’t a new problem, nor is it a small problem. Recent headlines prove this fact yet again with 70 Australians currently being charged after accessing sexualised images of children over the Internet.

Statistics suggest that one in every four female children and one in every seven male children have experienced sexualised abuse. Sexualised abuse is a brutally cruel crime at any age and it is shocking to know that two out of every three sexual crimes is committed against under aged innocents.

The long-term effects for victims can be profound. Common problems that can haunt victims for life include symptoms of psychological distress such as depression, anxiety, distrust, and low self esteem. They can also experience self-destructive behaviours such as self-harming, eating disorders, substance abuse, and suicidality.

Part of the difficulty in diminishing sexual crime against children is the furious fervour that naturally follows it. An example of this hysteria includes an internationally lauded Australian artist who recently depicted beauty through images of young peoples body’s, who was unfairly and inaccurately denounced as a child pornographer.

This understandable communal anxiety serves to push those with criminal inclination underground to repeatedly perpetrate their appalling addiction. There are many people with paedophilic ideations who do not seek help to stop for fear of recrimination. It also functions to diminish the victim’s ability to speak out about the crime since so much shame surrounds the subject of sex.

I don’t pretend to have an easy answer to this horrifyingly large-scale yet sadly silent problem. There is however some things that will help.

Encourage awareness of what constitutes healthy and appropriate sexuality in our young people and provide them with information about pathways to disclosure. Even if the attack was a long time ago, disclosure can help close the wound. Informed and connected people are less likely to be targeted as victims and can heal more effectively if it happens.

For those who hold this addiction in their minds, I beg of you seek help. Carefully research the very few options that may exist, and then access them to save both yourself and your victims.

Martin Hunter Jones is an honorary life member of the Australian Counselling Association. He has a Counselling and Hypnotherapy practice on the Northern Beaches. Phone 9973 4997.