An article with examples of discrimination
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2024 4:57 am
It's crossed my mind that we probably need an article listing examples of anti-MAP discrimination in various areas, given what the project is trying to achieve.
Cacciatori, Heather. (2017). The Lived Experiences of Men Attracted to Minors and Their Therapy-Seeking Behaviors. Walden University.
Participant mentions coming out to a counselor and being "promptly abandoned [...] without a referral"; another discusses meetings at a treatment center where the practitioners used conversion therapy techniques; one participant reports being banned from the only hospital in their community; one said no therapist would return their calls.
Walker, Allyn. (2021). A Long, Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity. University of California Press.
Has a section about therapeutic experiences (pg 130) that also summarizes research on structural barriers to care. Patient reports include: being treated as an out-of-touch danger, having MRIs and other tests ordered to find "abnormalities" to explain their attraction, being offered conversion therapy, having to do risk analysis questionnaires, and being turned away after disclosing to a practitioner.
Muir, Sophie. (2018). More than “Potential Offenders”: Understanding Adults who are Sexually Attracted to Children who have not Offended. Massey University.
Has a section on disclosures to professionals (pg 128). Participants report e-mailing therapists and being consistently ignored, told they couldn't be treated, or referred out; one participant said they received a reply telling them to report themselves to the police.
Levenson, J. S., & Grady, M. D. (2018). Preventing Sexual Abuse: Perspectives of Minor-Attracted Persons About Seeking Help. Sexual Abuse, 31(8), 991–1013.
Summarizes findings about MAPs' help-seeking behavior and includes testimony from a MAP who was reported to social services just for their attraction ("[The professional] suggested to me that I couldn’t control my urges and that it was only a matter of time before I raped a child").