The Sovereign Voice ITNJ Commemorative Issue | Page 56

AN OPEN LETTER
Carine Hutsebaut
COMMISSIONER FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR NATURAL JUSTICE
I
often wonder how our world would have looked if each child would have been able to grow up in a
normal way and not been seen as a target, bait, and sexual object… what a creative world would we have now!
The impact of child sexual abuse – especially on the scale that it is being performed worldwide – is
devastating for society as a whole. Scientific researchers in California have proven that the trauma of
pedophilia damages the brain. Because of this, children need all their energy to reconstruct themselves from
the confusion, the feelings of guilt, and the impact on their integrity. They have no energy left to be creative,
to be joyful, to be a kid, to feel like a complete human being.
Infertility in female victims is one of the consequences of sexual abuse, and approximately 10% of m ale
victims become violent sex offenders themselves. Some try to find solace in drugs, alcohol, prostitution,
some want to get even by becoming criminals, some just give-up on life as they have lost all self confidence.
The list is endless.
An average child sex offender’s sexually active years are between the ages of 15 and 65, and during this time
they can victimize between 100 to 150 children. If 10% of their victims become abusers, then there are 15
new abusers created. If each of these abuse 150 victims, then this means one offender can directly contribute
to 2,250 new victims. Now imagine the impact this has on society as a whole, not to mention the financial
cost to repair all the damage done. It creates a society full of child sex offenders, drug abusers, alcohol
abusers, thieves, and violent people not able to love.
Now let’s look a the definition of ‘pedophile:’
Pedophile is a word from the Greek words; pais (παις, wortel paid- = ‘boy’, ‘child’) and philía (φιλία,
‘friendship;’) is a term used for primary feeling sexually attracted to adults and certain adolescents
to children who are not yet sexually mature.
pe · do · phile (de, m, v; plural: pedophiles) an adult who feels sexual love for children
After having worked with child sex offenders for over 30 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that they call it
love, but it is not the correct use of the word. What they feel is a sexual attraction to children that has nothing
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