April 7, 2016

can we treat paedophilia?

The parents of April Jones last year threw their weight behind a controversial organisation offering treatment to paedophiles. Rather than only punishment after the event, this school of thought calls for research into potential strategies or even medical treatments that could prevent paedophiles from acting out their desires and reduce offending rates.

The approach is obviously highly contentious and there is little or no research done in the UK.  But researchers in the Karolinska institute in Sweden are looking at establishing a preventive treatment for men with paedophilic disorder, to intervene before the damage is done, in order to reduce the incidence of child sexual abuse. As part of this programme of research Swedish scientists will launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise the money for a randomised control trial to test a new drug that could reduce sex drive.

To coincide with the funding campaign the SMC invited the Swedish researchers to come to the SMC and brief journalists about their wider programme of research. They were joined by a leading UK expert in this field, Donald Grubin, Emeritus Professor of Forensic Psychiatry, Newcastle University who is a consultant to the joint NOMS/NHS England sex offender programmes.

Speakers:

Dr Christoffer Rahm, Post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Medicine and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute and Consultant Psychiatrist, Head of resident Doctors, Psychiatric Clinic Southwest, Stockholm

Assistant Professor Stefan Arver, Karolinska Institute

Prof. Niklas Långström, Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology, Karolinska Institute

Prof. Donald Grubin, Emeritus Professor of Forensic Psychiatry, Newcastle University