NL E 9

INTRODUCTION

Here is the Ipce Newsletter number E9, the 9^th made in electronic format as well as in paper format. As usual, the Newsletter starts with new statements. The rest of this Newsletter is the report of the 13^th Ipce Meeting and some related articles. As usual, a list of available documents is at the end.

Thanks to our host, the workgroup JON, the workgroup in the East of The Netherlands, Ipce could meet again. About twenty members have met each other during several days at the end of June and the first day of July 2000. Also several people from The Netherlands were present. The last day of the meeting, representatives of the Dutch active groups and organizations were present. The meeting had formal conferences, but also much room for informal meetings. Members said it was quite inspiring to meet each other face to face. Members and visitors were from young twenties of age until the older sixties. Members said they were glad that such a meeting and all those active groups were possible in the relatively tolerant climate in The Netherlands.

The theme of the meeting was "What to do? What can we do? What can I do?" The question can be answered on several levels.

Firstly, there is the personal level. This level can be seen as a very important one. Everyone should try to be as honest and open as possible in his or her personal environment. Everyone can prove to be a human being and not a demon or a monster.

Secondly, there is the internal level. On this level, people should support each other. Supporting prisoners and ex-prisoners was one of the issues of the meeting. Every member should, it was said, support at least one prisoner. Also newcomers should be welcomed and supported in finding their way of living. Also accused people, falsely or not, should receive support and information.

Most of the Ipce members are active people, makers of magazines, web sites, leaders of groups or writers of books and articles. Members can support each other. Try to connect people with each other. Exchange documents, make libraries, learn languages.

Thirdly, there is the public level. On this level, we make magazines or web sites; we write books and articles; we write to critical reporters and politicians. This is not easily done. One has to think clearly about the concepts and words to be used and whom we want to reach. The Ipce web site is such a public site that seems to work quite well. The Ipce web has a German and a French section as well now. A Spanish section is in preparation. A lecture for a congress of sexology in Paris, in 2000 as well in 2001 is also such a project.

More on the background, everyone can gather documents, books and articles and can formulate insights to use them later on. Learn about the world and think. Learn from experiences and history. Learn about the phobias and the ideologies. Study the laws and think about ethics. Be independent and organize your life in good order.

Ipce can go on now, with more than 60 members in many countries, with a new voting system and some funds for the next Newsletters, meeting and some software to make the Ipce web site multilingual. Note that the Ipce web and its Library can give far more documents and articles in several languages than an Ipce newsletter can do. You are invited to use these documents, to do what you are able and willing to do on one or more of the three levels mentioned above.

The Ipce Secretary
Frans

Statement

Universal sexual human rights

Source: Conference Report of the Fourteenth World Congress of Sexology

23-27 August 1999, Hong Kong

At the final plenary session, Professor Eli Coleman, Chairman of WAS announced the eleven basic sexual rights that they wished us to endorse and enact in our work as clinicians, educators and researchers. They are listed below and were endorsed by the conference to much applause:

(1) The right to sexual freedom. Sexual freedom encompasses the possibility for individuals to express their full sexual potential. However, this excludes all forms of sexual coercion, exploitation and abuse at any time and situations in life.

(2) The right to sexual autonomy, sexual integrity, and safety of the sexual body. This right involves the ability to make autonomous decisions about one’’s sexual life within a context of ones own personal and social ethics. It also encompasses control and enjoyment of our own bodies free from torture, mutilation and violence of any sort.

(3) The right to sexual privacy. This involves the right for individual decisions and behaviours about intimacy as long as they do not intrude on the sexual rights of others.

(4) The right to sexual equity. This refers to freedom from all forms of discrimination regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, race, social class, religion, or physical and emotional disability.

(5) The right to sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure, including autoeroticism, is a course of physical, psychological, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing.

(6) The right to emotional sexual expression. Sexual expression is more than erotic pleasure or sexual acts. Individuals have a right to express their sexuality through communication, touch, emotional expression and love.

(7) The right to sexually associate freely. This means the possibility to marry or not, to divorce, and to establish other types of responsible sexual associations.

(8) The right to make free and responsible reproductive choices. This encompasses the right to decide whether or not to have children, the number and spacing of children, and the right to full access to the means of fertility regulation.

(9) The right to sexual information based upon scientific inquiry. This right implies that sexual information should be generated through the process of unencumbered and yet scientifically ethical inquiry, and disseminated in appropriate ways at all societal levels.

(10) The right to comprehensive sexuality education. This is a lifelong process from birth throughout the life cycle and should involve all social institutions.

(11) The right to sexual health care. Sexual health care should be available for prevention and treatment of all sexual concerns, problems and disorders.

Sexual Rights are Fundamental and Universal Human Rights.

P. D'Ardenne. In: Sexual and Marital Therapy, Vol. 14, o. 4, 1999

[Chosen as a basic opinion for Ipce at the Meeting 2000]

Report Of The 13th Ipce Meeting

In the Eastern Region of The Netherlands,

June 30 and July 1 & 2, 2000

Part 1: First round about the Theme of the Meeting:

What to do? What can I do? What can we do?

The First Speakers

The first speaker said that he wants to write a book for the general public about his feelings He believes he should not be judged for this. He wants to make a distinction between the good and the bad and he will choose the word pedophiles for the good and the word pedosexuals for the bad.

Some others there opposed this choice of words. They said that the distinction to be made is: People who are only sexually attracted to minors and those who are also emotional attracted to them. Someone else didn’t want to use the word pedophilia at all. A third person reacted with: "Oh, no!".

The meaning of the word has been changed, from "loving children" into "molesting children". Words do change their meanings over the course of history. For example: the word hysteria was at one time a synonym for "female", later on for a mental illness, now an irrational way of doing things.

The first speaker added his approval for an ex-prisoner support group or system.

The second speaker wanted to be open about his feelings right up front. He also wants to meet other people to support each other and build a supportive community. He also wants to present an opinion, a positive way of thinking about the feelings of pedophiles. So, he has made a web site (Childlove Freedom Society at < http://www.fpc.net/pages/ifs/ >*) that gets 1000 hit each day. Yes, be very aware of the words you use and be very careful with words. Try to understand the nuances of the words of others, making new words if needed.
[* Link does not work anymore]

One person reacted by saying that people will not listen to your message, unless you use words like victim, predator and abuse. Even the Rind team kept using CSA as a central concept. Another reacted with: "I refuse to use only political correct words; I will use the right words."

Ricky’s story

Ricky used to be the co-secretary of Ipce. As most of you know, his house has been raided three times. The first time they removed all his equipment and gave it back eight months later without any explanation. It happened the same way the second time. In that case, the sending of a catalogue from the Amsterdam shop Intermale, with its tiny photos of the fronts of some books, has attracted the attention of the customs officials.

The third time, a ‘social service’ officer mentioned that a boy, coming from a family with many problems, had visited Ricky’s house. This lead to a thorough search of his entire house, including digging in the garden and dogs sniffling for human bodies everywhere.

The police made a report and leaked this report to the gutter press. An article full of lies was the result. The group "Gwain" (Gentlemen without an interesting name) that discussed laws, legislation and juridical practice, was mentioned as the revival of PIE.

In the end, the Court corrected the manipulation of police and acquitted Ricky of all charges. Now it’s Ricky’s turn to charge the police with manipulating the truth and leaking the report. The equipment is back in his possession again, but not yet working properly.

It is certain that Ricky’s membership in Ipce is known by now. Police know the Ipce membership now. Most of his files have been encrypted, but not the Ipce files. There is nothing illegal in any Ipce file.

What to do?

Know the laws of your country very well. Know exactly what police are allowed to do or not to do. This differs by country. Know the basic human rights laws.

It is important to support people who have been charged. They need this support urgently. With the knowledge that you are doing so, you can help other people later on.

The Next Speakers

In the USA, local groups are not possible. People live at large distances from each other. Contact is only possible by the Internet, but the Web has its limits. With an Internet connection, you can not support prisoners. Personal meetings are very rare and are generally superficial. There is a lack of active people, a lack of leadership and a lack of self-discipline. Yet, the speaker has made a web site and a discussion forum (SafeTnet.com and SaveHaven at < http://www.safet.net/ >*). The moderated discussion site has about 75 regular members and has regular posts from guest posters. Another member reacted with the opinion that moderated discussion sites, like the DPA Forum, run better than not moderated ones.
[* Link does not work anymore]

The next speaker emphasized the importance of a local group.

The next speaker does also. What he does is run such a group, running lists and sites and managing the Ipce matters and site. He especially disciplined himself to learn several languages, including computer languages so that he will be able to translate and digitize research for the purpose of connecting people with each other. Referring to Ianthe’s ideas, presented in the recent Ipce Newsletter E8, he would also like see ‘new kinds of families’ created and supported, differing from the traditional ones.

A female speaker emphasized also the importance of being open in one’s personal social environment. But she’s trying to do more.

The Forum for Sexual Liberation

In 1994, the ILGA (International Lesbian & Gay Association) started its action to remove all ped-friendly organizations out of its ranks. Since then, several groups have started discussions and have held meetings to form an alternative international association. Former Ipce Newsletters, especially the Reports from the Meetings, have already told this story. Meetings have been held in Munich, Barcelona, Toronto and Bilbao. This Forum discusses sexuality in a broad sense, not only homosexuality, but also other forms of sexuality of the young, the elderly, prisoners and people with handicaps. Regrettably, the Canadians have withdrawn themselves and planned meetings in Mexico and France failed to become reality.

Next speakers

There is not much activity in Greece. The gay & lesbian movement is silent and there is no interest in politics. It used to be, according old documents, that paedophilia is more or less accepted by the gays and lesbians, but in fact they are against it. However, they do nothing against and nothing in favour of it.

In recent years, there were two interviews on TV. The second one was especially manipulated, speaking only about child sexual abuse. The reaction to both programs was conservative.

The next speaker has learned about the social climate in The Netherlands. It is far more open than in the English-speaking culture, where workgroups are impossible. Families are far more open, for example. Tolerance and acceptance of foreigners and of cultural differences are part of the Dutch culture.

The next speaker is active in a Dutch group. He has made his web site, he participates in several lists and moderates a web based discussion forum. Doing so, he gathers and spreads documentation, participates in discussion and self-help and replies especially to messages which come from young people.

What not to do?

This is also an important question, said the next speaker. We are vulnerable people, especially if we have relationships. We need to learn from the history of BLAZE and PIE. So, what to do will not necessarily mean being active. Mainly, it means being prepared. It’s important to know yourself, your feelings and opinions, your weaknesses and your strengths. You should build a base for your resistance and your defence; a mental base and even a financial base. We need to think, to listen to ourselves and to other people to prevent problems.

Contact between adults and children

One of the members has prepared a paper for this meeting. It is his opinion that what to do? means to establish contact and relationships in one’s own environment and show that these relationships are not abusive or molesting, but trusting and safe. Discussing this, the Dutch members spoke about relationships that were functional (like a teacher, parents or foster parents, sport coaches or scouting leaders have) or only based on friendship. However, members from the English-speaking countries all said that relationships and even contacts are quite impossible in their countries. Parents have a great fear of stranger danger and control their children’s every moment at all times, as though they were manipulated dolls. Every single male is suspected. It seems that a more rational view on this irrational fear is not possible.

Soft or hard and strong?

A member of one of these English-speaking countries said that the reaction of involved people to this climate and especially to the harsh police actions and court decisions is to grow a more hard or strong mind. In his opinion, the emblem and the style of the DPA and its web site, with its soft smile and flowers, does not work. People are mentally hard now and fear softness.

In his personal history, he has been ‘outed’ as a pedophile, exposed on TV and attacked by many. He lost his job and had a hard fight against losing his job in the courts. He got help from his union and his lawyers.

The whole experience has, so he told, made him stronger; this experience has been an education for him – an education of how society is now. Society is not ready to see the truth now. There was a climate of liberation in the seventies, so groups like PIE and NAMBLA could come up and exist. But this has changed now. The speaker refers to the former speaker where he said: be prepared, create an infrastructure to help each other and be strong.

NAMBLA has been sued recently. The web site influenced the mind of a child murderer, the accuser said. The accuser shall not win this case, but it still causes problems, for example the money needed for a defence lawyer. The ISP of the web site took it down. There is another provider now and the site is back again on the web.

NAMBLA works with a small steering committee now, but that works better now. There is a discussion going on about the Bulletin: should the Bulletin reach the members first (with beautiful pictures in it) or the public (without or with other pictures)?

The same discussion is going on everywhere where is a magazine or web site.

The DPA style is a good one for the Danish people and for others, said another one. Pictures have a function in a magazine or site, so was said, people look at the pictures first. Everyone who publishes a magazine or site, has to think about the aims, method, strategy, expectations and style. There is only a small market for such magazines, so they should be well thought out and balanced.

The next speaker recognizes very well the trend to become more hard, strong and even cynical as a reaction to society. What to do? He has made an archive about the laws of his country, the activity of Europol and children’s issues in general, like the lack of space for children in society, the danger of traffic and the fear of stranger danger. Good documentation is necessary because of the superficiality of the media.

The next speaker agreed with the former one. He has made a great archive of documents, well ordered in his computer. What to do? Starting and going on with a dialogue with the opinion makers. This is possible in the medical field, in the scientific world and with the writers of books and articles. With these documents, I can inform them, so he said. It’s nearly impossible to change the public and even the politicians – take for example the book that Laurence Stanley wrote to change the Dutch laws; the only result were troubles for himself.

Several speakers agree that we should first have our own lifes in good order, to create and maintain an infrastructure that makes mutual support possible and to take time for thinking.

The last speaker of this round remembered the history of BLAZE and PIE: people were careful, but yet had to change their names and living places. Yes, the times are changing… culture has been changed in the last 15 or so years since the inception of Ipce. For example, there is much more consciousness of homosexuality now, also among the youth. He welcomes especially the young new Ipce members. What to do? He will write books, a.o. from the historical perspective and from the perspective of other cultures. As an example he tells that the Joseph in the Bible, the Joseph who was put in a hole by his brothers, actually was a symbol for a beautiful young boy heartily loved by his father Jacob.

Summary of the first round of discussion

	Ask What to do? but also What not* to do?* Learn from experience and history.
	Be very careful about which words, concepts and differentiation you use.
	Be prepared for good times but also for bad times. Take your time; society changes slowly.
	Differentiate between levels of influence and aims: personal level, internal level (members), mediators (writers, opinion makers) and the public.
	The personal level is also important.
	Mutual support, self-help and an infrastructure for this are very important.
	Methods of publishing magazines, sites and books, but also gathering documentation.
	You have to think quite long about the aim, method and style of your magazine, book or site.

Part 2: Ipce decides about Ipce

Financial Report

The meeting accepted the report without a check by a commission; all data are in a computer. Next year, there should be again a check commission before the meeting.

The membership’s fee shall be 20 Dutch guilders (or 10 $ or 10 Euro) for the next year.

Interim Financial Report, August 10, 2000

Posts	Oct 4, '98 >	Jan 1, 2000 >	*Next*	Interim
	Jan 1, 2000	June 10, 2000	*Expexted*	Aug 10 '00
	Hfl	Hfl	Hfl	Hfl
STARTING BALANCE	896,61	720,98	*960,58*	960,58
INCOME
Contributions	694,77	197,40	?	190,00
Gifts	23,00	95,00	?	402,80
Total Income	717,77	292,40	?	592.80
STARTING BALANCE + INCOME	1.614,38	1.013,38	*960,58*	1553.38

COSTS
Newsletters E 4,5,6 &7, 1999 &2000	-611,20		-125,00	-129,55
Costs for the Meeting 1998, 2000	0,00		-750,00	-937,35
Invitations, account & question		-2,80
Costs for the web sites	-200,00	-50,00		-258,95
Other Secretarial costs (porti)	-82,20

Total Costs	-893,40	-52,80	*-875,00*	-1.325,85

FINAL BALANCE	720,98	960,58	*85,58*	227,53

The secretarial Report

The meeting accepted the report.

Report of the Webmaster

The meeting accepted the report.

The voting system

The membership system allows the secretary to accept members who are proposed and known by other members and also new members after a period of acknowledgment.

The new voting system.

By E-mail and by letter mail, 27 members have reacted to the proposal for a new voting system. 23 of them agreed, 2 were neutral, 2 against. So, a majority of the replying members have asked the meeting to accept the new system.

The meeting has accepted the proposal. Present were 15 members, so 15 votes. All 15 agreed, nobody abstained, nobody voted against the proposal.

At the request of some post mail members, "one month" is changed into "two months". Some members misunderstood the words "voting form"; so the word "proposal" is used instead.

So, from now on the new voting system will be:

"Decisions in and about Ipce can be made by a vote among all members. A proposal shall be sent to all members by E-mail and, for those who have no E-mail connection, by posted mail. If the normal majority of the received votes (two month after sending the proposal) accepts a proposal, Ipce has decided to accept the proposal."

Please understand (which some people did not) that the proposal is not a voting system by E-mail connected members only, but a voting system amongst all members.

Meeting 2001

The first option is to organize this meeting in Berlin. The second option will be in the West of The Netherlands. The date will be sometime after the Paris Conference, which will be at the end of June 2001.

Part 3: Three Projects

1. The Bologna Project & More

See Ipce Newsletter E8 page 14

The Bologna Project

Some information has already been given about the "Bologna project".

The department of psychology of an Italian university wished to conduct and publish a study about the different kinds of repression against homosexuals (males and females). Some gay movements were contacted in Italy and Switzerland. A Swiss foundation for psychology and criminology manifested its interest as well of other Associations (psychological support groups for gay people, associations for prevention of sexual diseases, etc.).

Their initial effort displayed the importance of repression against the early manifestations of homosexual behavior by young people, occurring even when subjects were aged less than ten.

Studies of the historical aspects of repression revealed information that was not expected at first by the students and staff of the department of psychology. Pederasty or boy-love had been admitted to and even institutionalized much more often than homosexuality in most countries and civilizations, whatever their epochs and religions. With one quite notable exception: our own epoch, so highly reputed for its high technology and cultural level and desire for tolerance and democracy.

Intense discussions occurred within the team about the opportunity to develop the different aspects of boy-love/pederasty (including a present time study). […]

An other difficulty appeared: the problem of gathering reliable data about pederasty in sufficient quantity for the study. […]

Therefore, it could be a good opportunity for boy-lovers to gather useful information that could be of use to such a study or that could be available for future studies. Another possibility could be that boy-lovers could make and organize their own study about boy-love in past and present times.

[…] Such studies have to be published and, within the present atmosphere of fear and repression, the main difficulty would be to find an editor […]

One solution could be to gather documents about child sexuality, including the aspect of sexual relationships with adults and produce a CD-R. […]

A CD-R allows the displaying of an amazing number of documents, including color photos, drawings, paintings and even moving pictures. This CD-R would be quite easy to consult, even for people who have a hard prejudice against man-boy love.

If the theme were "child sexuality", the problem of prejudice against man-boy love could be avoided. […] It would be more or less an encyclopedia about child sexuality.

A CD-R can be copied and sent with ease and at low cost everywhere, especially to people who really need such information. For example: parents of jailed or prosecuted boy-lovers.

Information can be helpful

People who are suffering from the anti-sex rules and laws have families (parents, brothers, sisters, wives, children, uncles, ...) and friends who may suffer as much and even more than their jailed son, brother, husband, father, nephew, ...

Parents react in panic in the face of accusations or acts that they are used to considering in the same way as any other persons who are used to seeing TV reports or reading newspapers articles about "pedophiles", "child rapists", "abused and traumatized children", etc.

The families depend totally upon the media for information about minor-adult relationships and simply don't realize, for example, that "pedophilia" may be fully legal in some countries of the world for quite simple reasons. The population is totally misinformed about this situation. There is no doubt that thousands of males are or have been sexual criminals without having any knowledge about their situation. Accustomed by the media to look at any act with a sexual connotation which involve a minor-aged person (a child), the family reacts with horror and finds only "foolishness or madness" as an apology for the incredible crime committed by their son, husband, etc.

The disastrous result is that the authorities, complainers and media naturally use the attitude of the family as confirmation or corroboration of the guilt of the son, husband, etc. "Even his father and his mother are horrified by the attitude of their own son towards this child ....". The attitude of the parents may even cause the lawyer to say these words in front of a jury .... You can imagine the results....

In all these cases, information on a CD-R can be helpful.

Request for comment

Will it be possible to find people who are interested in such a project and who will help with good will for its realization and not participate only with: "Oh yes ! Great ! Fabulous ! Hay fantastico ! Wunderschön ! C'est génial ! Bravo ! Super !" […]

People who are informed about this project are welcome to make comments about it.

	is it good or not ?
	if not really good, are some improvements possible ?
	if good, can it be realized ?
	if yes, what can I/we do to help in its realization and to ensure it is put to its best use?

Please, think hard about the good and bad aspects or the advantages and difficulties of this project

At this moment in the discussion, people are saying:

	- I am not really interested with this project, or
	- I am interested and I can do this or that for its realization.

Many thanks to the people who read these lines and consider their involvement. Some persons are waiting for news of people who are interested and who want to do something for the complete realization of the project.

Discussion at the Ipce meeting

The idea is good, however, the realization will be difficult.

Parents are very important indeed. We remember the parents who were present at the Ipce meeting in Munich. The idea was ‘Parents helping parents’ – the idea should not be ‘pedophiles helping parents’. Pedophiles can offer some help, more in the background, by gathering information, for example.

In the UK, there are groups to help parents, managed by the ‘Social Service’, but these ‘social service’ workers always work ‘against the perpetrator’, so they actually split the families.

A start can be to help prisoners, someone said.

Better to start before real problems occur, said another, so start with young active pedophiles and their parents. Some of the local groups are actually doing this already. If we are well informed, the web site "Open Hands" is already developed for this aim (see < http://www.openhands.net/ >).

Five members said that they will give help to the project.

2. Prisoner Support

The members have read the preparatory papers in the recent Ipce newsletter E8. One of them remarked that the ideas in these papers are not only appropriate for ex-prisoners, but for free people as well. Several members have experience with visiting prisoners. They said that every member should maintain contact by letters or visits with at least one prisoner.

However, this is not easily done. Some prisoners are not reachable, especially if they are in some kind of treatment project. Frequently, ex-prisoners on parole are forbidden to have this kind of contact. The prison system has many regulations and each prison is different. But if you reach even one prisoner, maybe he can help his mates. Indeed sometimes they form their own isolated self-help group. You should convince the authorities that help is better than isolation. Especially in the USA the tendency is to isolate all pedophiles from each other and from the other inmates. This is dangerous and discriminating. It is like racism – the USA is a society split by racial borders.

Also writing letters can be very helpful. Many prisoners are not allowed to receive newspapers or magazines, so letters will be their one and only form of information about what’s going on in the outside.

Indeed, ex-prisoners are in a very difficult position and the surely need help. We should ask professionals like criminologists and sexuologists to share with us in helping them.

The idea of making a CD-R for them is a good one, but difficult to realize. We will need help from public relation specialists. We will need money, lawyers and places to meet. We will need the hardware and software and know-how to do this. We also need a good program or method of helping. Supposedly support from officials can only be given for small projects.

However, the smallest project to start with, can be working on a personal level. Many people are already doing this.

Two members said they were able to connect Ipce members with prisoners. Several members have said they were able and willing to make the contact.

3. Paris 2000 & 2001

By Tom O’Carroll

History:

In Aug ‘99 I met Claire Morris, a Ph D student at Cambridge University, England, arising out of Ricky’s project for a TV presentation. This led to Richard Green, Claire's supervising professor, inviting me to address the annual meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research (IASR) in Paris in late June, shortly before coming to the IPCE meeting.

The invitation was for a Symposium on Sexual Privacy. I was asked to produce something specifically on privacy in relation to paedophilia.

This was a breakthrough in a modest way for our cause: it was the first time to my knowledge that a major academic body had expressed an interest in hearing about paedophilia from a paedophile's point of view The IASR comprises some 268 academics from 22 countries with USA, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands strongly represented. Most of these people are professors or otherwise very senior, many of them world renowned figures, and all of them have published many peer-reviewed research papers.

Interesting to note three points: (1) Ricky’s activism in UK led to a Channel 4 TV programme which in turn drew in Claire Morris and then in turn her supervising prof’s attention and his inviting me to the IASR conference. Hence a chain of spin-offs. (2) My book Paedophilia:The Radical Case, written 20yrs ago, is now used by Cambridge University’s postgraduate students on Prof Green's recommendation. Hence his interest in giving me a speaking platform when he was alerted to my revived activism. (3) The invite came soon after publication of Rind et al.’s work; maybe no coincidence. Rind was just last week elected to membership of the Academy.

Paper

I had never approached paedophilia from the privacy angle before. However, in US law, the notion of a personal right to a private intimate life, regardless of one’s orientation & practices (if consensual) is a growing area of legal theory. Also the European Convention of Human Rights: gay privacy & S/M privacy papers along these lines were presented at the symposium.

I had to think out my position from scratch: fortunately I was guided in terms of the legal and human rights issues by the famous British Columbia judgement (Regina v Sharpe) regarding the development of privacy law & the legal principles of proportionality and over-broadness (avoidance of). Also, privacy is becoming a buzzword among cyber freedom fighters: privacy of electronic communication & freedom from surveillance (Echelon) is becoming an issue.

A major consideration arose early on: how to keep the focus tightly on privacy rights without getting bogged down on issues of children’s ability to consent & issues of power & equality? These were addressed in my 1980 book but I felt they were too complicated to tackle in a brief speech. Accordingly, I majored on (1) the adult’s right to private possession of porn & (2) sexual privacy for children in peer relations. This left (3) overlapping circles of adult & child sexuality left deliberately for "pondering".

The focus on privacy actually raised far more issues for paeds than just porn of course: I emphasised that many paeds of my acquaintance were not interested in porn at all. Thus also concerned myself with raids, stings, coercion & surveillance of all kinds, going on to therapy programmes and the way they invade the paed’s mental privacy.

The original paper grew & grew: eventually I produced both a 20-minute speech and also a background supporting position of some 27,000 words. This was made available to Academy members. I also have copies for everyone here. Four files on it: speech, background paper, footnotes and references.

Reception

Paper itself has well been received: out of the 60 persons present at the symposium, some 25 took the disk from the reprints table. Many lined up for questions, but little time to answer them. Richard Green felt it had gone very well. Dave Richards – nice gay guy doing the gay paper (turned out to be a professor of law at New York University) – liked the emphasis on children’s privacy: he felt that children’s rights had not previously been emphasized enough in the paed literature he has seen.

More important, at dinner & other social encounters, over coffee etc, people were interested: sharp, intelligent, sceptical questions, but also a definite feeling they could understand that paeds are a difficult, hard-done-by case; there was definite sympathy for the human rights arguments. E.g. Gil Herdt, anthropologist from Sambia, talked in his lecture about celebrating "sexual diversity" – but he had to agree paeds are being left out of the party and he felt this could eventually change.

Downside: John Bancroft, formerly Oxford prof., now working at the Kinsey Institute: "I, for one, wish to go on record as feeling that this invitation should not have been made." He said he was worried about the Academy possibly coming under attack and people losing research grants. But he appeared to be a lone voice. Nobody applauded his contribution, unlike mine, which was well received..

Upside: Networking. Met many people doing important research, including Dr Mike Newcomb, of the University of Southern California, who is currently doing a statistical analysis specifically on adult-girl sex contacts (albeit with a technically different approach to Rind et al, with whom his findings will in future doubtless be compared and contrasted). After a long series of sceptical questions he said "You have good arguments". The arguments will not alter his statistical findings, but I do believe there is reason to hope they will influence his attitude to the conclusions that can be drawn from them. Also, more than half a dozen people have asked for my 1980 work, which is out of print but available on Internet, and hence downloadable to disk, thanks to efforts by other activists to scan it & get it on the web. This is at
< http://www.phix.com/~cipher/books/radicase/bkdex.html >.

Follow up:

	Emailing book P:THC, with letters to Academy members who asked for it. Also email dialogue with various Academy members, carrying forward discussions started over coffee and meals.
	Paris 2001: major project. Possible attendance by IPCE members and speaking at next year's World Congress of Sexology, information about which was given at the Academy meeting.
	Email dialogue on differences and similarities between paed & "normal" love for children. Prof Green invited me to have a continuing dialogue with him on this subject.
	Use of research findings discovered during the Academy meeting eg Prof Milton Diamond, last year's president of the Academy, gave me two of his own papers on sex offences in Japan -- which, as in Denmark & the old West Germany, went down during the period when porn was most freely available. Also, one of the leading "elder statesmen" at the event, Dr Ira Reiss, gave me some good ideas.

Discussion at the Ipce Meeting

Well, this is a chance. We should not try to educate the public, but the educators. Among these scientists, there are many therapists.

The problem is that even among scientists and therapists, the basic assumption is that pedophilia is by definition a kind of violence. It is an attitude, difficult to change. An approach from the human’s rights for privacy and from general experience will maybe work.

It is also important to have made contacts at such a meeting as the International Academy for Sex Research.

Next year's World Congress of Sexology (under the auspices of the World Association for Sexology, and not to be confused with the International Academy for Sex Research) to be held in Paris from 24-28 June, offers a further opportunity for such work. The Ipce meeting agreed that we need more information on this (which Tom agreed to seek out) with a view to some Ipce members attending and speaking (certainly from the floor, but also at least one person aiming to present a paper as a scheduled speaker) .

Seven members said they were interested in attending the Congress, providing further information indicated it was a forum to which a useful contribution could be made.

Note: The two bodies, IASR and WCS, appear to be very different in character. IASR is relatively small and elitist, reflecting the fact that the number of scientific researchers in the world is in fact quite small. IASR meetings are closed to the general public and the media, whereas WSC has a much more public face and admits anyone prepared to pay the registration fee (but presenting a paper needs scientific committee approval). Most of those attending the WSC appear likely to be specialised medical practitioners rather than scientific researchers, though no doubt there will be some of the latter, especially among the speakers. The fact that both meetings are in Paris is purely coincidental: IASR, and probably WSC as well, meets in a different place each year.

Part 4: A Lecture

Treatment, self-help and real therapy

By Dr Frans Gieles

Part 5: "What to do?"

The main theme again:

Second round discussion

Paris 2001 Conference

First, Tom will search for more information about the conference. Seven members said they are willing to cooperate preparing the conference.

Safety discussion

The members acknowledge that it is good to gather documents and to keep archives to use now and to preserve for history. To be safe, one should make back-ups and spread the documents around. Access control and encryption can provide more security. One member says that a letter sent by post mail is far safer than electronic mail.

Others choose another way to safety. If we should encrypt all our mail, we make ourselves suspect. To be open and serious is the best way. For example, a reporter of a Dutch newspaper has surely seen the public Ipce web site. Still, she did not write an article about it. The site is serious, legal and has only texts of high level. This is a test for the Ipce web site and the way it is made.

On the personal level

Be as open as possible. Let people think. You will get support from your own environment.

Gather information and store it systematically and safely. Learn about the world. Think.

Learn from experiences.

Learn about homophobia, pedophobia, abuse ideology; analyse the language used there.

Keep order in your personal life.

Develop relationships and show that these are safe and not abusive.

Be prepared for problems or for action in the future.

Study the laws and judicial practice in your country.

Study and think also about ethics.

Be as independent as possible; save time and money for action.

Develop strategies – survive.

On the internal level

Form local groups where possible, be a member and support these groups.

Make friends.

Support each other, give feedback to each other, be open for feedback.

Support Ipce.

Connect people with other people,

Exchange documents, make libraries.

Support prisoners.

Discuss and develop strategies.

Develop alternative, corrective language, words, concepts.

On the public level

Write letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines or sites.

Make contact with critical journalists & scientists.

Make web sites to inform the public.

Start and maintain discussion forums.

Organize discussions at symposiums, etc.

Write and publish articles and books.

Write books for kids; tell stories.

Write and speak from historical sources like old myths.

Remember that English is not the only language in the world… use other languages too.

Some concluding remarks

We heard many individual plans and ideas. That’s good. You can surely do something as an individual. However, we need more: we need also collective strategies, views, ideas, coordination, priorities and leadership.

We have never thought about fund raising, but we should. Research requires money; lawyers too.

Be open, but also careful. Take your chance if possible. Make a good intuitive estimation of the people you speak with. Do not always speak about your feelings – speak for example about civil liberties.

The senior of the Meeting remarks that the questions are the same as in 1960, the answers also. Former meetings had more participants but now, even though there are less people, they are more educated. I am especially glad to see young people who will take over the flag.

Part 6: Dutch groups and organizations represent themselves

Paulus Kerk – Saint Paul’s Church

This Rotterdam church pays special attention to suppressed groups: drug users, asylum seekers, illegal immigrants, homeless people and sexual minorities, amongst which are pedophiles. The church provides pastoral care for these groups. In the opinion of the church, political action can and should also be a part of pastoral care.

For peds, there is the Aljé Kramer group. The name refers to a former Dutch radio pastor. The group gives personal counseling and help for peds.

The Paul’s Church organized the conference where the research of the Rind team was presented in 1998. There has now appeared a booklet in English, with texts on pedophilia by Rev. Visser, Donald Mader and others: Misunderstood Intimacy, A Pastoral Approach to Pedophilia, by Hans Visser & D.H. Mader. The booklet is free for prisoners. Others pay 5 dollars for shipping and handling. It can be ordered with: KSA, Walenburgerweg 55, NL 3039 AS Rotterdam.

KOINOS Magazine, < http://w3.to/koinos >

Koinos started in 1994. It is a magazine about the beauty of boys in their teens. The magazine is in two languages, English and German. Dutch subscribers get a Dutch translation of the text as an attachment. At the moment each issue has 2300 prints. The USA and Germany each receive 40% of it, The Netherlands 15% and the other countries 5%. Only a few issues go to the UK. For the UK, a Koinos without advertisements and without photos would be better. For the French people we have no translator.

In the past, we have printed more copies. About two years ago there was a sudden drop in sales with one of our US resellers. So far we have managed to adjust the expenses without lost of quality. The web site has about 300 visitors each day.

The editor of the magazine is the Amikejo Foundation. The aim of it is not to make money, but to spread a message and to give the boy love community a worldwide solidarity platform. The message is: draw a distinction between consensual and not-consensual contacts.

Koinos writes about and gives photos of boys above the age of twelve. This is a practical choice for a magazine that will be accepted in several countries. From the age of twelve, youngsters gradually have more rights. Boys of that age are usually able to give informed consent.

In Germany there is Der Bundes Prüfstelle für Jugendgefährdende Schriften (BPJS) (control office for protection of youth against dangerous texts). The office screens films, books and magazines to protect youth against the bad ones. The office has submitted a claim against Koinos Magazine twice, claiming that certain issues were to be considered dangerous for minors. The first time we defended ourselves with no avail, so issues 14, 15 and 17 are now blacklisted. The second time, regarding issue 19, we asked a lawyer to write the defense. The committee has accepted this defense and has freed Koinos from the accusation for that issue. Publications that are in the BPJS blacklist may not be sold in regular bookstores, nor may they be accessible for persons under 18 in Germany and it is not allowed to advertise for them. This usually has a strong negative effect on sales.

Koinos would be glad to welcome more engaged people and also more texts, photos and translations.

Martijn & OK Magazine

Martijn is an association for the acceptance of pedophilia, boy love as well as girl love. Martijn has 270 members at the moment; in the past there have been more. Martijn edits the OK Magazine five times each year. "OK" stands for "Oudere-Kind" (Adult-child). It is time and money consuming to publish such a magazine. Martijn publishes translations of the articles for the English and German subscribers.

There is also a web site that has about 600 visitors each day. Recently there is an English section of the web site. Even shortly after opening this section, new members subscribed. Martijn will register an own domain name, to have more room for the web than is possible with fpc.net.

We are considering publishing a version of OK Magazine that would be better accepted in the UK and the USA. The pictures should be adapted for these countries.

Martijn will participate in the Gay Pride Day next weekend in The Netherlands.

Discussion

Members give compliments for the OK Magazine.

Why has there been such a drop in membership?

Supposedly because the social and cultural climate in The Netherlands has changed since the Dutroux affair. Members had more fear, especially since police have confiscated the list of members from the house of the secretary. People are afraid, for example, that the postman will drop the OK magazine in the mailbox of their neighbors.

How is the Dutch law about child pornography?

In recent years, the law as well as the judicial practice have become much more severe. Possession of explicit material it is forbidden now. It appeared that less explicit material also is seen as child porn if it is part of a collection. However, this has never happened with OK Magazine or Koinos Magazine. Both are completely legal. The police have screened the web site after an accusation from Meldpunt Kinderporno (reporting center for child porn), but has declared it legal.

What is explicit?

Not only showing the genitals, but also the pose of the youngster. In The Netherlands, it is not sufficient to hide the genitals behind a bar printed over them, because the photo has been made and making such a photo is forbidden in order to protect the children against such a kind of sexual abuse as taking a photo.

Active members or passive consumers?

Everyone who makes a magazine or a site has to chose his policy, especially about the pictures. The pictures motivate many subscribers or members but they keep being passive consumerist. A member said: "I prefer an organization with 15 active members instead of one of 2000 passive consumerists." The OK Magazine is for both, as is Koinos Magazine. Both organizations discussed their policy in case of the pictures. Both organizations work primarily for their members, not for the public.

Another topic of policy is the copy right of the photos. Taking these from the Internet can cause problems. OK Magazine has contacts with professional photographers.

Werkgroep Tegengas (Workgroup counter-action)

I was asked to represent the action group "Tegengas" (counter-action). Tegengas (literally a pressure) is an activist group. We haven’t existed for very long, but I’ll tell you about our thoughts. We have discussed many times which strategy we should follow. We have discussed that here too! It’s a difficult but important question.

I think it is important to divide our strategy into three levels, the first, the second and the third level.

The first level is your personal level, your friends, your family and your colleagues. This level is very important, I’ll work it out later.

The second level is the level of our own environment. I think about the (excuse me for the word) pedogroups. I think about JON, the associations like Martijn, KOINOS and NAMBLA etc. Very important for this level is to help each other. Yesterday I have heard many good things, like the Bologna project and the self-help method.

The third level is the public level. It is the whole society. You can divide this one, of course, into several groups like media, politic, the science etc. But I won’t do it here.

As I already said, the personal level is very important. I’ll explain why. We are into a new Age. This time is called the "Post-modern time". We just passed the modern time, the 19^th and 20^th century. Now, the 21^st century is different. In that old time, the modern time (excuse me for the confusion, but ‘modern’ is old fashion), science was very important. That time was very rational. Everything had to make sense.

The new time, post-modern, is different. This New Age breaks with that old belief in the power and absolutely of science and logic. There is no universal sense. There are no longer absolute norms, everybody has their own. Everybody has also one’s own truth. Science has become subjective! That’s why we should no longer overestimate scientific work.

In this individualistic society people are more interested in each other’s private life. Just see all those shows on the television about very personal things. That’s the first level! People are interested in the first level. If we want to convince people of our goodwill, we have to live an upright and honest life. People should see how we are. Are we willing to show the people who we really are? Do we live an open and upright life?

This, my friends, is not just a strategy, it is more. It is a way of life. It is a philosophy, a religion. I know, in the Netherlands this will be easier than in the USA. It will cost victims, were there is a battle, there are victims.

Does it work? Yes it works! I’ve seen it working. If people trust you, they will take your arguments seriously. If you have very good arguments, based on serious scientific works, but people don’t trust you, it won’t work. You need to be reliable in this new Age.

Back to Tegengas; What do we do? Well, Tegengas hasn’t existed very long yet, but we have several plans. We want to make a web site with different topics, but all about paedophilia. The topics are: welfare work, science, media, ethical philosophy, religion and posted letters.

We would like to make a magazine later on, but at first we want to try this.

This is work on the third level. It is important too, but it is not our only effort. We support each other, that’s by the way the second level, to live an open and upright life. We can only convince people if they trust us.

Discussion

Several members said that Tegengas has good ideas, a good starting theory.

Indeed, a scientific argumentation or an objective validity is not enough; a subjective validity is necessary if you want that someone to listen to your arguments.

A web site? Not yet; we need time for discussion and we are just at the start.

The difference between Martijn and Tegengas? Well, Martijn has some active and many only consuming members – Tegengas has only six active members and no consumers.

Stichting Tegenwicht (Counter-balance Foundation)

This is also a young organization. Counter-balance has started a web site for critical citizens of The Netherlands at < http://www.tegenwicht.org/ > Dutch only at the moment.

Counterbalance for what? The scope will be especially human relations in the actual society. We see a splitting in our society nowadays into homogeneous groups: whites with whites, colored people with colored people, youth goes about with youth only, adults with adults only. We also see the Americanization of our society. We see that the schools are becoming like mass factories where nobody knows each other’s name. We see isolated kids with weapons and without morality. We see a split between youth and adults nowadays: adults are afraid to have real contact with kids because the fear of being seen as a pedophile. Adults are only functionally going about with youth, not personally. Youth reacts by only going about with youth; there they will learn their ideas and morals. Adult-child relationships as well as childhood sexuality will be one of the topics among many other.

Another item will be that government and public seem to see only one kind of solution for every problem: more and more ruling by government, more laws, more severe laws and courts, more prisons and more cops. The public doesn’t seem to think that problems in society can be resolved by the same society itself, for example by better communication and contact between the groups of citizens. Counter-balance is also a group for civil rights and liberation.

So, we’ve written about the school shootings in the USA and about the freedom to express opinions. A bishop or Pope is free to say that homosexuality clearly is a kind of mental distortion – we are free to say that homophobia is clearly a mental distortion based on fears.

We have just started the web site and it has at the moment only three statements. Statements are short essays with a ‘sharp’ opinion in it, with a list of references and links to these references. Doing so, we build a kind of library of critical articles in the course of time.

The site is not a discussion site; there is only a reference to < webmaster@tegenwicht.org >

Counter-balance also has an E-mail list and two web sites. The list and one of the sites are meant to be a virtual working place to prepare the statements for the public site; it’s the archive of the E-mail messages. The other site is semi-public: it is a library available for people who are allowed to access it. We have been working about 18 months, we’ve built quite a big library.

Counter-balance has a board and is formally registered as a foundation. Board members pay all the costs. The List has about 25 members.

Discussion

Is the "counter" also against pedophilia? Not as such; it is the counter-balance against the tendencies in society that make real and personal or intimate contacts between adults and youth impossible or suspect.

If Counter-balance puts a plea for intimate adult-youth contacts on their web, wouldn’t the public say: ‘Ah… these people are pedophiles who hide themselves!’

Maybe they do – let them. If they read the statements, they will see that Counter-balance is broad and gives opinion about many other topics. Adult-child relationships is only one of them.

How can you measure your success or failure?

We have only the counter on the web site. Maybe we can reach critical reporters and writers, maybe they will refer to Counter-balance as a source. Otherwise, we don’t know.

NVSH – Dutch Association for Sexual Reform
< http://hello.to/nvsh/ >

The NVSH began after the Second World War. Before the war, there was an association for birth control, started in 1881. NVSH has had 240,000 members in the time that birth control and other help for sexuality was only possible within the NVSH. In the course of time, some functions of the NVSH are split off in separate foundations, for example the counseling offices for issues in sexuality. Nowadays condoms are for sale in every shop just around the corner, in cafes and even schools, NVSH is much smaller. It is more or less an ideological association. Important are the telephone-help-line and the magazine Sekstant. Another function that is left, is giving room for and understanding of sexual minorities.

Since about 1970, pedophiles have found room and tolerance in the national and local groups. However, this has changed. Just like the general climate in our society, the climate in the NVSH is different now. People spoke against the presence of peds within the NVSH or even left the NVSH for this reason. Members fear that the image of the NVSH will be spoiled by tolerance for peds. People proposed new ruling that would exclude peds from membership. Some of the local NVSH chapters even left the NVSH and have started a new association that excluded the ped workgroup from membership and using the building.

Actually, there are only a few local groups now active; the national group has become passive. The board asks the members to be active; members should not wait until the board does something for them, members should start actively helping themselves.

The board has taken a neutral position concerning this issue. The board has the opinion that people should help each other and not should combat each other. The board and the membership council have accepted a reaction to the proposals of Minister of Justice Korthals. The core of the reaction is to give room for youth’s sexuality, give information and help if needed; do not forbid sexuality for youth. The recent issue of Sekstant is very critical of Minister Korthals.

NVSH / RVSH Workgroup Pedophilia Rotterdam

We in Rotterdam have founded the RVSH, the Rotterdam’s Ass. for Sexual Reform. If the Dutch association should stop, there still will be the RVSH. There is no controversy between NVSH and RVSH: we work closely with each other. We have the same small magazine and the same building. However, the building will be a problem because the owner will start a renovation of it and will use it for other purposes after that’s done.

The Workgroup Pedophilia

The group has monthly meetings with about 20 persons. These meetings are felt as important, especially for newcomers. There is a special commission to welcome them. The others feel the aspect of social gathering is important. Visitors come even from Amsterdam and also from Belgium. We have an extended display of literature.

So, the group gives information, social gathering and help.

NVSH Workgroup KOR Den Haag (The Hague)

KOR is Kind-Oudere Relaties (Child-Adult Relationships). Briefly, this group does the same things as the Rotterdam group.

Other activities of the Den Haag group have been: maintaining contact with the moral police squad and participating in a project to prevent AIDS by youth.

NVSH Workgroup Pedophilia Amsterdam

The workgroup is small, but we organize monthly meetings just like the Rotterdam group. We also have problems with the building of the local NVSH chapter. We need a new building, but to find a building in the center of a city like Amsterdam is very difficult and expensive – maybe not possible for a local chapter of an association. In that case, we will ask for room at our neighbor NVSH chapter in Haarlem.

JON < http://www.jorisoost.nl/ >

JON is the NVSH Workgroup JORis Oost Nederland (JORis for the East of The Netherlands). JORis is Jeugd-Oudere Relaties, intimiteit, sexualiteit (Youth-Adult Relationships, intimacy, sexuality).

JON has also monthly meetings, but not in a public building but in living rooms of the members. Place, city and day of the week differ month by month. In these meetings, self-help takes place, just as it is described in Treatment, Self-Help and Real Therapy. JON has about twelve members who have frequent contacts with each other. At the meetings, usually about eight members are present. If more, we would split into two meeting groups.

JON has a web site that is visited frequently. For the moment, there is only a small English section, but we’ll work for more English texts. It appeared that many people, especially young ones, have found the web site and mail us for membership. So, we have been quite busy with the acknowledgment interviews we have as a start of membership. Within the coordination group of four members, we have the same discussions as the other makers of sites and magazines have about the pictures, the style, the aims and the texts.

JON has also an E-mailing chat list, named JonChat with about 25 members from all over the country. Members say that they need such a channel for expression of feelings and experiences. Now and then, members organize local meetings. Members have said that their feelings of doubt, shame, guilt and isolation have been diminished since these meetings, virtually and in reality.

Because JON is the hosting group for the Ipce Meeting, several members are present. These members said that they appreciate JON very much. For some of them, it was the first place to come out with their feelings – the first place in which they dared to speak about their inner world. They said they appreciated the seriousness of the meetings. About the mailing list they said that it’s good to express your thoughts and feelings and to receive reactions from others.

Discussion

JON has, just like the other groups in a big city, few members for such a great region.

People hesitate long. Newcomers said that they have hesitated about two or more years before writing to the group or the webmaster. People are afraid – for example to meet their neighbor or colleague at the group. Others have said that they were afraid the group was actually a treatment- or therapy-group leaded by a psychologist who wanted to change their mind.

Remember that in the gay world these fears are also present. People literally walk around and around the gay meeting building before they dare to go in.

Actually, the amount of members has been about the same over several years. New members come in, other members go out after some years with a "Thanks! I’ll find my way." Others stay in the group to welcome the next newcomers.

Did people ‘out’ themselves for the first time in the group?

Yes. This ‘coming out’ is a process, a long way to go. Important is the coming out to one’s parents and friends. At first, one should come out for oneself. Every member, especially the young ones, go through a process in which the inner side gradually is seen and accepted; then one can search for a way of living in harmony with the inner feelings and with society.

How can one start such a group?

JON is a part of the NVSH, like the other local groups. So we started by a publication in the local NVSH magazine. If there is no NVSH, the modern way to start would be to make a web site, then start a mailing list and then organize meetings.

Several foreigners said that these kind of groups and meetings are absolutely impossible in their countries, especially in the English-speaking countries. Thus, they said, keep giving your counter-balance or counter-action against the Anglicization of your country!

Part 7: Evaluation of the Meeting

Two decisions

The meeting agreed with the proposal to gather more information about the Symposium in Paris 2001 and to try to bring a paper into this symposium if possible.
With 16 votes who agreed, 0 neutral and 0 against, the meeting decided to support the Declaration about the Sexual Rights and to accept it as a basic agreement for Ipce. The Declaration is included as a Statement in the first section of this report.

Evaluation of the meeting

The members said they were glad that the Dutch people could organize this. Several were impressed about the representation of the Dutch organizations. If this had been earlier on the agenda, there would have been time for more discussion. It is good to see new groups coming up and young people becoming new members.

Members said that the meeting was very productive. This was also because of the correct organization and the strict style of the chairman. He organized rounds in which everybody could speak and the others listened in a quiet and orderly manner.

New members said they were glad to have discovered Ipce as a forum for communication, information and discussion.

Members were glad for the informal contacts – the agenda had much room for these contacts because the first point of the agenda was to meet people. A young person said it in the language of the youth: "Very cool to meet good, articulate people who do not reject me." Others said that they were impressed to have met famous old members and to see that they are just normal people.

The chairman has said that he and Ipce will connect people with each other – well, that was good, said the next speaker. In my country, he said, is it impossible to have such a meeting. If we do meet, the conversation is more superficial. What I have seen here is that people really think, discuss in depth and formulate carefully. The chairman said also that he and Ipce want to connect people with ideas – well, we’ve got ideas. It was inspiring.

Some old members said that the meeting was more productive than earlier meetings. As the chairman had asked before the meeting, there were no endless discussions about the rulings or the ethics. Apparently, we agree on these items.

Members agreed to go on with Ipce, its list, web site, newsletters and meetings. Ipce connects people, boy lovers as well as girl lovers, from many countries with each other.

Two Related Articles

1. Sexual Privacy for Paedophiles and Children

Paper delivered by Tom O'Carroll to the Symposium on Sexual Privacy at the annual meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research, Paris, June 2000

2. An Outline of Major Events in the UK from January 1999 - May 2000

Introduction

The quality of life for paedophiles in the UK has deteriorated steadily for at least the last 15 years, and the replacement of Major's Tory Government by New Labour has, if anything, accelerated that decline. The declared aim of Government spokespeople and lobbyists has been to establish as many controls as possible over paedophiles which, if considered individually may not be seen as a serious infringement of their rights, but taken as a whole, become a heavy burden. The controls are both legal and procedural, and apart from criminal sanctions, may involve important aspects of life, such as housing, freedom of movement, employment, and disclosure to others.

The word "paedophile" is now freely equated with serious criminality, even amongst senior politicians. Its definition has changed beyond recognition.

The practical effects of "pro-active" policing -- when police start with a suspect, then cast around to see if they can find any crime he may have committed -- is beginning to create a climate of unease amongst paedophiles. Police have been known to suggest that a financial reward is likely if a prospective victim makes an allegation of a sexual nature, even if there is no conviction. Such allegations are frequently made by adults and refer to events many years previously.

On a more local level -- London and SE England -- the unease has been aggravated by two recent, clearly organised murders of paedophiles by unknown assailants, presumably local community members. These include a doorstep shooting.

A Parliamentary Bills introduced (or due to be introduced) since Jan 1999

Crime and Public Protection Bill (to be introduced in 2000)

Sex offenders face being electronically tagged on release from prison. (Exp. 99-11-26). NB. This presumably means while they are on licence. They can already be subjected to compulsory supervision for up to 10 years - and in some cases life. Tagging would not be compulsory but assent to it would be a factor considered by the parole board (Gua. 99-11-26). It would be applied to prisoners considered "dangerous".

Also announced was the possible use of tags that trigger an alarm if the offender goes near a playground or other children's area at specific times.

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999

Made mandatory for children's evidence to be pre-recorded so that they are no longer questioned in court. This means that their evidence in chief would be pre-recorded, but cross-questioning in sexual cases would be by live television link. (It appears that this need not take place on the day of the trial) Quite what the definition of the age of such a ‘child’ is unclear.

A section preventing anyone under 18 who was victim or witness to a crime from being identified by the press was shelved (In fact, victims are only ever identified if they are dead, and perpetrators may or may not be identified according to the discretion of the judge).

Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill - (Age of Homosexual Consent)

In a tactical move to keep the Bill before Parliament, the Tories declined to vote on it at the Bill's Second Reading in the Lords on 11 April (Times 00-04-12). Since the Government has already invoked the Parliament Act, it is just a matter of time (presumably before the end of this parliamentary session in the summer) before the Bill automatically becomes law and the age of homosexual consent is equalised at 16.

Protection of Children Act 1999

(A private member's bill, introduced by Debra Shipley, Lab. and supported by the Government).

Aims to ban all Childcare organisations from employing anyone on a national register drawn up by the Government and legally require employers to submit the names of those who have "harmed" children or put them "at risk". (Ind. 99-02-27). A number of doubts about the Bill were made in the Press at the second reading. For example, the inclusion of "suspected" paedophiles where the threshold for inclusion is low and need be no more than hearsay, the fact that the Home Secretary, not a court decides on inclusion, and the existence of false allegations. Despite this, the Bill was passed unopposed.

The list was to be held by the Criminal Records Bureau and was to be available for scrutiny by employers whose organisations include children who could be at risk. However, reports in July '99 stated that the Passports Agency that was due to run the database was in crisis and forecasts indicated that it wouldn't be fully operational until 2002 or 2003.

Further Proposals on Employment:

A lifetime ban on working with children if jailed for 12 months or more for a serious offence on a child

An unlimited fine and/or 5 years imprisonment if seeking work with children while banned.

A similar fine and/or imprisonment to an employer giving work with children to such a person. (See Ind. and Gua 99-07-29)

Review of Sex Offences

In Jan. 1999 the Government invited views from the public on sex offences so that they might incorporate them into an overhaul of sex offence laws to be in accordance with the European Convention for Human Rights. A Home Office report is due to be published in June '00. Changes are expected in new definitions for, amongst other things, rape, oral sex, incest and indecent exposure. Recommendations for legal changes are also expected in relation to people in positions of trust and authority as, for example, in a family, where it would be an aggravating factor in sentencing.

Indefinite sentencing

Following the conviction of psychopath Michael Stone for the (non-sexual) attempted murder of 11 year-old Josie Russell and her sister's and mother's murder in 1998, and the then imminent release of 2 paedophiles (Robert Oliver - 15 years for manslaughter, Lennie Smith - 10 years for indecent assault), Home Office minister Jack Straw introduced proposals for "managing dangerous people with severe personality disorders". Since psychiatrists generally deem them untreatable, they cannot be detained under the Mental Health Act. Paedophiles are regarded as suffering from a personality disorder and assessments of its severity appear to be made in a thoroughly unscientific manner (e.g. Oliver appears to have been assessed as dangerous on grounds of his having refused to take part in a treatment program for a condition that itself is described as untreatable).

The proposals are that police or social workers would be able to ask the courts to detain a person indefinitely if they believed they were a risk to the community. The person need not have committed an offence. He would be detained in a secure hospital or a prison or a separate system would be set up, such as in the Netherlands and each case would be reviewed every 2 years.

The proposals have been before a home affairs select committee, and "…the Government is expected to move forward on its plan before the next General Election" (latest report: Gua 00-05-26)

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill (RIP)

In 4 main parts, the Bill covers interception of communications, access to communications data, decryption and covert surveillance operations. It is now before the Lords but receiving very little coverage in the press. Part 1, dealing with interception of communications, will require ISP's to install a "black box" to monitor all data traffic of a specified subscriber (in practice this would mean all subscribers) and pass it to a new surveillance centre in MI5's London Headquarters, so that they can read communications for which a warrant has been issued. However, the presence of the ‘black box’ will allow all subscribers’ pathways to be monitored without the need for a warrant.

Despite Government denials, the proposals on encrypted files are questionably contrary to Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights. For example, non-disclosure of a decryption key makes the owner liable to 2 years' jail, and a public complaint about this treatment could result in a further 5 years. The onus of proof that he has not forgotten the pass phrase lies with the owner. (Latest report: Obs 00-06-04)

Policing /Surveillance Units

A mass surveillance facility called the Government Technical Assistance Center to combat terrorists, criminals, paedophiles and pornographers is being constructed at MI5's headquarters in Westminster (see above). It is expected to be operational by the end of this year (Pink Paper 00-05-05).

" A special police squad is to be set up to tackle the vast international trade in child pornography on the Internet. It will concentrate on infiltrating paedophile networks…and cutting through international red tape so they can be successfully prosecuted." (!) (S.Exp 00-01-09)

A closed G8 conference in May 2000 was held in Paris to explore ways of "co-regulating" the Internet, preventing it being used for crimes, including the spread of child pornography. French Interior minister, Mr Chevenement, urged early adoption by all G8 members of a treaty being drawn up by the Council of Europe, which would require countries to define Internet crime more precisely and to harmonise laws (Gua 00-05-16).

Paedophile Unit

The media hype generated by the 1997 Sex Offenders Act, Home Office misinformation about risks to the community from released sex offenders, and the notoriously leaky police and prison services inevitably led to a climate of vigilantism, and in 1999 a unit, composed of self-contained flats to house released high profile sex offenders was established in Nottingham Prison. At present it houses Robert Oliver and Lennie Smith (see A6 above). There were a series of well-publicised protests by residents living close to the prison. The cost of running such units, and more importantly, the cost of providing a police escort each time the ex-offender wants to leave the unit makes it seem unlikely that there will be many more Paedophile Units.

Institutions -- The Waterhouse Report

An enquiry into physical and sexual abuse in N.Wales children's homes published in Feb. 2000

Ordered in 1996, the 3-year enquiry looked into allegations of abuse between 1974 and 1991 by 259 adult complainants. Although the bulk of the allegations were of physical and emotional abuse, the Press focussed almost entirely on sexual abuse. Approximately 17-18 staff members were imprisoned for sexual offences in a series of well-publicised trials. The Enquiry, however, appears not to be resulting in any further prosecutions. Nor have rumours of the existence of a paedophile ring, including prominent public figures, been sustained by credible evidence.

The effect of the Report has been to prompt a large number of other local authorities to institute their own enquiries (up to 80). This, along with the current police practice of "pro-active" investigation can only result in a massive increase in mistaken or malicious allegations of events long past (D.Tel; Times; Gua 00-02-16).

Court Cases

The vagaries of the Sex Offenders Act are nicely illustrated in the following case:

In July 1999 music student Dominic McKilligan, 19, was convicted of the rape and murder of 11-year-old Wesley Neailey and jailed for life. This means that on his eventual release he would have gone on the Sex Offenders Register for life. However, he lodged an appeal against the rape conviction, which was successful. Therefore, although he will be on licence for the murder conviction on release, he will not have the stigma of being identified as a sex offender by being on the Sex Offenders Register, despite the fact that the murder had clear sexual connotations.

Glamrock seventies icon Gary Glitter (aka Paul Gadd, 55) was jailed in November 1999 for 4 months for downloading child pornography but acquitted on 8 counts of indecent assault of a 14-year-old girl, now a 28-year-old woman. The acquittal followed revelations that the woman, Allison Brown, stood to gain £25,000 from the tabloid newspaper News of the World if Glitter was found guilty. Glitter pleaded guilty to 54 specimen charges of making indecent photographs of children under 16 ("downloading" having been judged equivalent to "making" in an earlier High Court case).

Stop Press

Recent press reports suggest that the British Government is proposing to set up an ‘international’ register of sex offenders so they can be tracked wherever they may be worldwide.

DOCUMENTATION SERVICE LIST August 2000

Go >	Introduction
Go >	Statement: Universal sexual human rights
Go >	Report Of The 13th Ipce Meeting, June 30 and July 1 & 2, 2000
Go >	Part 1: First round about the Theme of the Meeting: What to do? What can I do? What can we do?
Go >	Part 2: Ipce decides about Ipce Financial & Secretarial Reports, Interim Financial Report, Report of the Webmaster, New voting system, Meeting 2001
Go >	Part 3: Three Projects
Go >	1. The Bologna project & more
Go >	2. Prisoner support
Go >	3. Paris 2000 & 2001, By Tom O’Carroll
Go >	Part 4: A Lecture Treatment, self-help and real therapy, By Dr Frans Gieles
Go >	Part 5: "What to do?" The main theme again: Second round discussion
Go >	Part 6: Dutch groups & organizations represent themselves
Go >	Part 7: Evaluation of the Meeting
Go >	Two Related Articles
Go >	1. Sexual Privacy for Paedophiles and Children Paper delivered by Tom O'Carroll to the Symposium on Sexual Privacy at the annual meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research, Paris, June 2000
Go >	2. An Outline of Major Events in the UK from January 1999 - May 2000
Go >	Documentation Service List August 2000

Ipce

N E W S L E T T E R

Report Of The 13th Ipce Meeting, June 30 and July 1 & 2, 2000

Two Related Articles

Documentation Service List August 2000

INTRODUCTION

Statement

Universal sexual human rights

Report Of The 13th Ipce Meeting

Part 1: First round about the Theme of the Meeting:

What to do? What can I do? What can we do?

The First Speakers

Ricky’s story

What to do?

The Next Speakers

The Forum for Sexual Liberation

Next speakers

What not to do?

Contact between adults and children

Soft or hard and strong?

Summary of the first round of discussion

Part 2: Ipce decides about Ipce

Financial Report

The secretarial Report

Report of the Webmaster

The voting system

So, from now on the new voting system will be:

Meeting 2001

Part 3: Three Projects

1. The Bologna Project & More

The Bologna Project

Information can be helpful

Request for comment

Discussion at the Ipce meeting

2. Prisoner Support

3. Paris 2000 & 2001

History:

Paper

Reception

Follow up:

Discussion at the Ipce Meeting

Part 4: A Lecture

Treatment, self-help and real therapy

Part 5: "What to do?"

The main theme again:

Second round discussion

Paris 2001 Conference

Safety discussion

Some concluding remarks

Part 6: Dutch groups and organizations represent themselves

Paulus Kerk – Saint Paul’s Church

KOINOS Magazine, < http://w3.to/koinos >

Martijn & OK Magazine

Discussion

Werkgroep Tegengas (Workgroup counter-action)

Discussion

Stichting Tegenwicht (Counter-balance Foundation)

Discussion

NVSH – Dutch Association for Sexual Reform < http://hello.to/nvsh/ >

NVSH / RVSH Workgroup Pedophilia Rotterdam

NVSH Workgroup KOR Den Haag (The Hague)

NVSH Workgroup Pedophilia Amsterdam

JON < http://www.jorisoost.nl/ >

Discussion

Part 7: Evaluation of the Meeting

Two decisions

Evaluation of the meeting

Two Related Articles

1. Sexual Privacy for Paedophiles and Children

2. An Outline of Major Events in the UK from January 1999 - May 2000

Introduction

A Parliamentary Bills introduced (or due to be introduced) since Jan 1999

Crime and Public Protection Bill (to be introduced in 2000)

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999

Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill - (Age of Homosexual Consent)

Protection of Children Act 1999

Review of Sex Offences

Indefinite sentencing

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill (RIP)

Policing /Surveillance Units

NVSH – Dutch Association for Sexual Reform
< http://hello.to/nvsh/ >