Demonising paedophiles
Sir: Charlotte Metcalf hopes the convicted paedophile Roger Took (‘The Devil in our midst’, 12 July) will read her words ‘with par ticular care’. I wonder how she would wish Took to react to her labelling him ‘a monster’, and bemoaning the fact that his opulent Chelsea home made it harder to ‘view him as a freak’. Perhaps she hopes Took will look at the devil on the front cover, and see himself?
The dehumanisation of paedophiles is all too common in tabloid journalism, of course, which seeks only to stir up public rage. But if we are ever to comprehend the psychology of paedophilia, then the opportunity for more sober and thoughtful journalism should not be wasted. How disappointing, then, that Ms Metcalf’s crude and literal demonisation of Roger Took should do just that.
Gareth Hall
Nyköping, Sweden
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