Fury as Police Scotland describes paedophiles as ‘minor-attracted people’

 30th December 2022

Police Scotland has used the term “minor-attracted people” (MAP) to describe paedophiles in a major report, despite warnings it normalises child abuse.

Chief constable Iain Livingstone’s annual assessment of the force’s performance made reference to it working in a European project targeted at MAP.

The report said the Horizon Europe Project was aimed at “providing them with the necessary support, treatment and guidance to help prevent criminal activities”.

Police Scotland emphasised it opposed describing paedophiles as MAPs and insisted the term had only been included in the report as it was used by the project’s commissioning documents.

But the report was published amid wider concerns by campaigners over what they see as attempts to rebrand paedophilia as a harmless sexual preference.

The term MAP is contentious because child abusers are trying to escape the stigma attached to paedophilia and maintain they should be regarded as a niche group alongside the LGBT community.