History

Psychiatric disorder is a condition where people are unable psychologically to behave accordant to the social norm and consequently, cause them to be abnormal and are unable to connect with the others. In this case, pedophilia, homosexuality, bestiality, etc. can be classified as psychiatric disorder. These disorders are believed to happen since the past of human history.  The stimulation to study and grouped this disease starts on the late 19th century.

 

Ancient Greek and Romans

Some people may have known that Greece accepted homosexual relationship in ancient time. However, what most of people don’t know is that pederasty and relationship between men and boys happened.

 

In the mid/late periods of ancient Sparta, the practice was occured in its military camps, where 12 years old boy was trained by a matured man that acts as the mentor and apparently, molester.

 

Later, Plutarch, a historian addressed that Theban pederasty in Life of Pelopidas was an educational device for boys that was designed to soften their natural fierceness and temper. In Greece, there is also a term that describes the players in man-boy relationships. Erastes is the adult who is in a sexual relationship with a boy (eromenos).

 

Culture & Religion

In some cultures and religion in the world, pedophilia was allowed and practiced. In ancient time, it was permitted since there was no study about it. Therefore, people didn't understand the term itself.

 

Richard von Kraff-Ebing (1886)

 

The Viennese psychiatrist wrote a book called Psychopathia Sexualis and there, the term “paedophilia erotica" was coined. He then agglomerated sexual offender into psychopathological and non-psychopathological.  Moreover, he listed pseudopaedophilia (the individual who lost the libido/attraction to other people and use child to satisfy their sexual desire) as a similar condition to this disorder

 

Sigmund Freud (1905)

 

In a chapter in the book, "Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality" , he wrote that it was rare to find exclusive pedophilia. Moreover, he also wrote that the victims were the subject of desire when a weak use them as a substitute since they can't find a more appropriate object.

 

Auguste Forel (1908)

 

The swiss psychiatrist and neuroanatomist stated pedophile as "Pederosis” which means sexual appetite for children.

 

20th Century

 

In the early 20th century, the term, pedophilia began to be adopted and widely accepted by people. It was discussed in many medical dictionaries like the 5th Edition of Stedman's (1918).

 

In 1952, a book called Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Edition 1 classified pedophilia as DSM-II and grouped the sexual disorder as “sexual deviation"

 

In 1980, DSM-III described the description of the disorder and accommodated the diagnosis a set of guidelines.

 

In 1987, DSM-III-R updated the diagnostic criteria.