Individual, could you please elaborate on this statement;

“Why can't people agree that if someone did something wrong retribution is in order as is punishment.”

You wrote;

“Do you really believe that as you say ‘a single offence of a very minor type that just falls within the accepted definition’ would be seen as such by a parent ?”

Most of the time no. Neither a parent nor just about any individual that has had a paedophilic crime imposed upon them is likely to genuinely forgive the perpetrator. But then the same can be said for just about any crime. So should we lock away all criminals who have ever affected innocent peoples’ lives? No of course not. Should we be able to take retribution against known robbers, dangerous drivers, etc? Of course not. So why single out paedophiles?

I absolutely detest people who speed, tailgate or otherwise drive in a dangerous manner. Their crimes are very significant in terms of the risks on our roads for our safety and indeed our lives. For me and I guess for most people, they constitute the most frequent and the most significant exposure to unlawful, offensive and risky behaviour that we and our kids are subjected to. And yet our society is remarkably tolerant of them.

So again, why single out paedophiles when there are so many other forms of crime around us of the same order of magnitude for which practically no one suggests retribution or removal from their community?

Let’s put the crime of paedophilia into context here.

Ludwig,

Paedophiles are "singled out" as you put it - for one main reason -
They prey on children ...

Of course Foxy.

But they are not alone in preying on our kids or causing increased risk to their wellbeing.

Drug peddlers, dangerous drivers and all manner of other criminals threaten our kids’ health and safety.

So do you think that it is fair and reasonable to single out paedophiles?

Dear Ludwig,

Pedophilia - is a sexual desire in an adult for a child.

You ask me am I being fair in singling out pedophiles when there are others who also do harm to children?

You think about what you're saying to me, then take an intelligent
guess as to the answer ...

Our task is to find out what these are and to do something about minimising them.
Bronwyn,
Another Something. I ask again on this discussion, "what something" ? Somthings don't offer any solution ! So-far as your faith in the australian judicial system is concerned, I hope for your sake that you never become a victim.
Paedophiles are very low beings indeed & must not be given the benefit of the doubt. The only ones lower than that are those who falsely accuse others of this sickening behaviour.

Foxy, it was a simple question that deserved a straightforward answer, instead of an implication of subintelligence of the person who asked it.

It is often necessary on this sort of forum to ask really basic questions. Afterall, I don’t know you from a bar of soap and I’ve got no idea, beyond the few words that you have posted here, of what your motivations and opinions really are.

I would suggest to you that it is NOT fair or reasonable to single out paedophiles. The magnitude of pedophilic crimes varies enormously as it does with all categories of crime. There can be no doubt that serious drug crimes for example, are vastly worse than the minor end of the spectrum of pedophilia.