On the 25th January and the 15th February (due to high demand) a ‘Nghidu Kelma’ workshop was held on ‘Working with adults with paedophilic tendencies’. The key speaker in this workshop was Mr. Matthew Bartolo, a counsellor specializing in Sex and Relationships. Mr. Bartolo has worked with sex offenders in Keppel Unit, in the UK where he had a chance to challenge his own ideas and attitudes towards sex offenders and people with pedophilic tendencies.
The workshop began by exploring how literature defines paedophilia. The workshop was made up of discussions and group works in which it helped the participants to look at particular cases and explore different ways on how to work with clients with paedophilic tendencies. During the workshop, participants were challenged to reflect on their own attitudes towards adults with paedophilic tendencies and also challenged them to reflect on the processes that an adult with pedophilic tendencies goes through and how best to help someone struggling with such attraction.
The main aim of the workshop was for the participants to learn how to create the right containment and safe environment for such clients to feel safe. Research suggests that unless professionals understand and help to teach such adults to control their urges and stay away from children these things will keep on happening. Unfortunately, currently, these adults are sent to prison, offered little, if any help, and let out again. When professionals are trained on this specific subjects, professionals can offer the right space for such clients to work on their issues and learn coping skills that will eventually help the possible victims.