It is considered normal to have sexual fantasies and participate in sexual behavior, but when the fantasies and behaviors include inanimate objects, inflicting pain, or children, then others start to wonder if something is wrong with that person. One might be able to concur that a person like this can be considered a paraphilia. "Paraphilias are ... sexual fantasies urges and behaviors that are considered deviant with respect to cultural norms..." (Paraphilia, 2001). When taken to the extreme, some types of paraphilias can be very dangerous. There are a variety of crimes that fall under the category of paraphilia and many ways in which to treat people diagnosed with the disorder.
[...] The most effective treatment of paraphilias is a combination of pharmacological, cognitive, and behavioral treatments and relapse prevention. offenders should be able to participate in treatment programs while serving criminal sentences regardless of whether such participation has any bearing on the nature and length of their sentences. Participation should not be mandatory” (Zonana, 2006). Conclusion People with paraphilias, who also may be known as sex offenders, have recurrent fantasies, urges, and behaviors that are considered to be deviant. There are eight classifications of paraphilias, along with those not otherwise specified. [...]
[...] Otherwise, people with paraphilias come from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, all levels of intelligence, and different sexual orientation. Paraphilias often establish a pattern of behavior and experience tension before initiating the behavior. However, paraphilias continue the behavior in spite of the awareness of damage they are causing. “People with paraphilias sometimes develop a tolerance or a need to increase the frequency and intensity of the behaviors and may experience withdrawal if they do not yield to their urges and perform the behaviors” (Gijs, 1996). [...]
[...] People with paraphilias usually have nonsexual, as well as sexual, motivations that are important in determining their behaviors. The actions of these people can provide feelings of power, a sense of self, and a direction and meaning to his or her life. A lot of these people want intimacy and closeness while at the same time fearing rejection or engulfment. Some may be seeking to fend off anxiety, depression, or loneliness, or even to express anger, rage, and revenge. Paraphilias may be looking to avoid the demands of their lives, or perhaps to recreate feelings associated with childhood sexual experience. [...]
[...] In most cases, the individual involved in the fetishism needs the object to be sexually aroused and is unable to be aroused without it. Fetishism also usually begins early, with the object sometimes established in childhood. Frotteurism is diagnosed as a person that achieves arousal and orgasm by fantasizing about or touching or rubbing against a nonconsenting person (Seligmas, 2000). This usually occurs in crowded places where the offender can easily escape or explain the situation as an accident. People with frotteurism typically have poor social skills and sometimes move on to sexually aggressive acts. [...]
[...] These are diagnosed as meeting the general criteria for paraphilias but involve objects of arousal not found in the eight disorders that are defined. Examples of these include telephone scatologia (obscene telephone calls), necrophilia (sexual activity with corpses), partialism (sexual activity focused on one part of the body), klismaphilia (erotic attraction to and stimulation by enemas), zoophilia (sexual activity with animals), urophilia (involving urine), and coprophilia (involving feces). Understanding Paraphilias Paraphilias can come about through fantasies urges and behaviors and often change over time, increasing in frequency and severity. [...]
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