Anger as EU project sees Police Scotland rebrand paedophiles as ‘Minor-Attracted People’

Dec 31, 2022 by Jill

by Mary Wright and George Mair, Scottish Daily Express:

The term – described as ‘deeply disturbing’ and ‘baloney’ – was included in the Chief Constable’s year-end report as part of an EU project to tackle child abuse and exploitation.

A controversial move to label paedophiles as “Minor-Attracted People” in a top-level report has been defended by Police Scotland, with the force suggesting the EU was to blame.

Chief Constable Iain Livingstone’s annual year end report refers to child abusers as Minor-Attracted People (MAPs). The move comes amid wider concerns by campaigners over what they see as attempts to rebrand paedophilia as a harmless sexual preference.

A spokesman for the force stressed that MAPs is not a term they routinely use to describe child abusers and said that its use in the report had to be understood in context.

He explained that the reference to MAPs was in relation to the force’s engagement with the European Union‘s Horizon Europe Project – Prevention of Child Sexual Exploitation.

The report states: “The project’s main agenda is to develop understanding and approach to avoid the victimisation of children by engaging Minor-Attracted People (MAPs) and providing them with the necessary support, treatment and guidance to help prevent criminal activities.”

Read here