Paedophile

Paedophile Pedophilia (alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent, known as a paedophile,experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11, and boys at age 11 or 12, criteria for pedophilia extend the cut-off point for prepubescence to age 13 . In the 1970s paedophiles campaigned within gay rights organisations such as the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and the Gay Liberation Front for the abolition of any age of consent , and advocated free sex between adults and young children. The Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) was a British pro-paedophile activist group, founded in October 1974 and officially disbanded in 1984. In 1975 23-year-old Keith Hose became chairman of PIE. The group's stated aim was "to alleviate [the] suffering of many adults and children" by campaigning to abolish the age of consent thus legalising sex between adults and children . A campaign to attract media attention was not effective, but Hose's attendance at the 1975 annual conference of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) in Sheffield, at which he made a speech on paedophilia, was covered at length in The Guardian. The Paedophile Action for Liberation (PAL) group was based at 78 Railton Road, Brixton before relocating to Vauxhall . The Gay Activists Alliance distributed a leaflet at the CHE Conference in 1979 supporting pedophilia . The Gay Youth Movement openly supported pedophilia. Gay rights organisations had challenges disassociating themselves from those who advocated legalisation of pedophilia.

ULU Gaysoc 1980 events included a speaker on the topic of Pedophilia (LSE archives)