DD: The history of paedophile emancipation in the Netherlands: small beginnings in the 50s and 60s, some large steps forward in the 70s, but a backlash in the 80s.
N.N.: Hierin kun je de hele ontwikkeling naar het heden volgen. De ontdekking van de incest (door de feministen), de aanval vanuit de Verenigde Staten, de dominante rol van de media, de verzinsels. Uiteindelijk is seks iets waarvoor de mens een diepgewortelde angst heeft, dat maakt seks ook pas interessant (men moet een grens overschrijden, dat maakt het spannend, anders zou het net als eten en drinken zijn). Een vonk was op een bepaald moment voldoende om de hetze te doen ontstaan en is de massahysterie een feit. Is de massahysterie eenmaal ontstaan dan is deze niet meer te stoppen, hetgeen niet betekent dat men er niets tegen moet doen. Objectieve publicaties krijgen weer waarde wanneer de hysterie voorbij gaat. Ze blijven dus van belang.
DD: Paedophile emancipation in the Netherlands: What was done, and what effects it has had.
The question discussed is how far crossgenerational sexual relations with or by minors could be considered to be a gay rights issue. The author discusses the issue from the perspective of general principles found in the case-law of the European Court on Human Rights. These principles suggest that the basic right to privacy should be interpreted as providing comprehensive protection of the right of children and adolescents to sexual self-determination, namely both the right to effective protection from (unwanted) sex and abuse on the one hand and the right to (wanted) sex on the other. The analysis is based upon the findings of natural and social science as well as an extensive international survey of national legal provisions and it leads to the conclusion that consensual sexual relations of and with adolescents over 14 (out of relations of authority) should be qualified a gay rights issue; likewise (as the exception to the rule) the possibility of filtering out cases from prosecution where a contact/relation is proven (beyond reasonable doubt) as consensual and harmless even though the minor involved is under 14. The legalization of (objectively consensual) sexual relations with persons under 14 as such, however, should not be considered to be a gay rights issue.
DD: Although I must admit that I have not read the article, the conclusions sound strange to me. Why the cut-off at a certain age? Would it not be more reasonable to argue that this is always a gay rights issue, but that below a certain age other, negative factors start to weigh more heavily?
IPCE: This is the essence, in a way, of the author's massive, 1400 pp., Vienna law dissertation of 1996. The thesis itself (while being, in my eyes, not so convincingly organised and argued) contains a lot of interesting, albeit redundantly delivered information, in particular from the sixties before the subject became embattled. His conclusions are not really supported by the material he assembles; in fact, the opposite is the case. So this is also a case of intellectual cowardice, I'm afraid.
PRD: Positive overview of paedophile attempts to set up self-help groups/organisations, in Britain and elsewhere
A history of literature and views existing within the COC (Cultural and Recreational Center), the major Dutch organization of homosexual men and women, regarding pedophilia and its relationship to homosexuality are discussed, beginning with definite separation between the pedophile and homosexual identities and ending with an abolishment of oppression towards pedophilia, for which the COC is in part responsible. The article argues that the homosexual identify is by no means a "constant" but a fluid identity, based on societal views and conditions. By accepting pedophilia, the COC hopefully will broaden the idea of the gay identity.
With respect to pedophilia and the age of consent, the Netherlands warrants special attention. Although pedophilia is not as widely accepted in the Netherlands as sometimes is supposed, developments in the judicial practice showed a growing reservedness. These developments are a spin-off of related developments in Dutch society. The tolerance in Dutch society has roots that go far back in history and is also a consequence of the way this society is structured. The social changes of the sixties and seventies resulted in a "tolerance at arm's length" for pedophiles, which proved to be deceptive when the Dutch government proposed to lower the age of consent in 1985. It resulted in a vehement public outcry. The prevailing sex laws have been the prime target of protagonists of pedophile emancipation. Around 1960, organized as a group, they started to undertake several activities. In the course of their existence, they came to redefine the issue of pedophilia as one of youth emancipation.
The issue of man/boy love has intersected the gay movement since the late nineteenth century, with the rise of the first gay rights movement in Germany. In the United States, as the gay movement has retreated from its vision of sexual freedom for all in favor of integration into existing social and political structures, it has sought to marginalize cross-generational love as a ``non-gay'' issue. The two movements continue to overlap, amid signs of mutual support as well as tension - a state of affairs that also characterizes their interrelationship in the United States since the Stonewall Riots in New York City in June 1969, which marked the beginning of a reinvigorated struggle for gay liberation.