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Pedophilia is a concern relevant to all sexual orientations, journo association says
Pedophilia, a sexual deviant behavior that can be perpetrated by either the homosexual or heterosexual orientations, is a criminal act that disregards a child's future and must be addressed firmly in the public eye, a member of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia has said.
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In crisis -- This picture illustrates a child victim of trafficking. The number of victims in a recently discovered child prostitution ring for male clients has increased to as many as 150. (Shutterstock/File)
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edophilia, a sexual deviant behavior that can be perpetrated by either the homosexual or heterosexual orientations, is a criminal act that disregards a child's future and must be addressed firmly in the public eye, a member of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia has said.
"We cannot close our eyes to criminal acts and in cases such as this - whether perpetrated by homosexuals or heterosexuals - the need for critique still must be realized," the head of Women and Marginalized Groups of AJI Indonesia, Yekthi Hesthi Murthi, told The Jakarta Post on Friday. Criminal acts must be firmly addressed, she added.
Hesthi voiced concerns that pedophilia cases related to minority groups such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) would easily make headlines and gain notoriety.
However, she continued, with the legal age for girls to marry set at 16-years-old, it would mean that pedophilia is legalized by the government in the context of a heterosexual marriage, as the law only recognizes marriages as that between a man and a woman.
Hesthi said she condemns pedophilia, regardless of whether it is carried out by homosexuals or heterosexuals. She stressed the importance for the public to have a clear understanding that pedophilia is a deviant sexual behavior that could be carried out by either sexual orientation that targets young children as victims.
Hesthi's remarks came in response to the case of the recent uncovering of a prostitution ring involving nearly 150 boys in Bogor, West Java, allegedly catering to male clients, raising public concern that such cases are exclusive to being gay. (dmr)
