MAP Forum

Regarding the issue of child molestation, predators take advantage of a child’s physiology, including how malleable his or her brain is. One of the problems is that the victim oftentimes does not experience just horror, but also pleasure. If you think that sexual feelings aren’t malleable for children, just listen to the words of Kenneth Lanning, a former top profiler of pedophiles for the FBI. He says, “It takes almost nothing to get an adolescent boy sexually aroused. An adolescent child with emotional and sexual needs is simply no match for an experienced 50-year-old man with an organized plan.” And the child’s brain doesn’t care where the pleasure comes from; it just says, “Get me more of that,” and rewires itself accordingly.

It should thus come as no surprise that children who survive same-sex predators sometimes end up with same-sex attractions (SSA) and confusion. Disturbingly, these children find themselves in a world that repeats the mantra: “If you feel attracted to the same sex, you’re gay. Just accept who you are.” Whether this is spoken on the day of the abuse or decades later, it imprisons victims for life.

Abusers use the child’s new appetites as a hook to keep the boy coming back for more or at least prevent him from sharing about the experience. “See, you liked it. If you tell anyone, they’ll know you’re gay.” Lanning affirms that, “The stigma of homosexuality … greatly increase[s] the likelihood the victim may deny … the sexual activity.” The child is not entirely wrong to fear being identified as homosexual. The world has accepted the lie that desires, regardless of where they come from, define sexuality.

Someone needs to help the boy’s heart understand, “your body responded exactly the way it’s supposed to when it’s stimulated. It doesn’t mean you’re gay.” Further, the boy must come to understand that even though he continues to be attracted to others with characteristics similar to his abuser, that doesn’t make him gay. Redemptive ministries and therapy, pejoratively called “conversion therapy,” do this work. This gives the boy his free will back.