PEDOPHILIA SERIOUS DISORDER, CHILDREN OFTEN NOT PROTECTED IN TIME

BANJA LUKA, DECEMBER 7 /SRNA/ – Pedophilia is a serious, deeply rooted disorder that requires a systemic response, and zero tolerance for violence against children must not be just a slogan but a daily practice, psychologist Maja Savanović Zorić told SRNA.

Zorić explained that pedophilia is not a passing urge or an impulse that can be extinguished by social condemnation, but a deeply ingrained sexual-preference disorder with a strongly compulsive nature. “Despite arrests, media coverage, and significant public involvement, individuals still attempt to make contact with children, as in the recent case where a person from Banja Luka traveled to Bijeljina with a clear intention to meet a child,” said Zorić, who is also a family psychotherapist. She emphasized that such behavior reflects dangerous obsessiveness, a lack of realistic judgment, and a complete distortion of moral and social perception. Zorić also noted that it is concerning how often children are not protected in time, not because they did not try to speak up, but because adults do not believe them. According to her, children usually confide about this problem first to the person they consider closest and safest. “If they are met with disbelief or minimization, they withdraw, feel shame and guilt, and take on responsibility that is not theirs. This prolongs their suffering and increases the risk of lasting psychological consequences,” Zorić said. She added that in many cases from practice, she has observed that parents most often doubt the child's account precisely when the potential perpetrator is someone within the closest family or neighborhood circle - relatives, neighbours, family friends, or well-known acquaintances. Zorić stressed that no child should have to fight alone and that it is essential to talk about this clearly, responsibly, and without sensationalism. As she explained, pedophilia requires a systemic response from police, social services, and digital safety structures, to specialized treatment programmes for sexual offenders. “Zero tolerance for violence against children must not be just a slogan - it must be practiced daily. That is the only way to prevent tragedies and ensure that children are truly safe, both in the real and digital world,” Zorić concluded.