Minors who identify as maps and take part in map discourse always attracted a lot of negative attention from antis. There were a lot of speculations around their place and purpose, older maps were accused of grooming simply for making friends. Minor maps are indeed in an especially vulnerable position, but not for the reasons antis may think up. In fact, antis are one of the main reasons why they're in danger. How does that happen? This is how:
1. Denial. There is a huge social pressure against the idea of an underage pedophile. Pedophiles in media are usually middle aged, DSM-IV had 16 as the minimal age to be diagnosed, antis love opposing pedophiles and children for emotional manipulation, and it's in their best interest to keep claiming all pedophiles are exclusively adults. Not to mention that some view recognizing the fact that children can have sexual interests as an act of child abuse. NB: Yes, there are maps younger than 16, according to a survey by medical organization B4U-ACT, the most common age to admit your mapness is 14 (https://www.b4uact.org/research/survey-results/youth-suicidality-and-seeking-care/ ).
2. Dependency. Very few children don't rely on any adults and are completely safe from adults. So minor maps who live with mapmisiac parents most likely can't access any sort of therapy and offline support, because therapists are required, or at least not prohibited, to expose them to parents in case of something worrying. And I have seen some people say horrible things about what they'd do to their children were those to come out as maps.
3. Gaslighting. Minor maps involved in online activism are often subjected to much more harsh treatment than adults. Antis not only stalk and suicide bait them, they also try to befriend them in some creepy warped way, and they start telling them all their friends want to rape them, often with graphic details. Infantilization and pet names are often used, such as “baby”, “sweetie”, and other things, even if the minor expresses discomfort with it.
As a result of all these factors, minor maps often struggle realizing they are maps, because all information they can gather about pedophilia is about adults, when or if they finally find enough courage to admit it, they find themselves isolated from all real life support groups, so they turn to online support groups, and there they face a double dose of harassment from antis.
Supporting minors is one of the most important tasks that stand before the map community. There should be more minor inclusive studies and programs, more interviews with minor maps (anonymous, obviously), more focus on combating the idea that the map community consists mostly of adult men with an exception for 2-3 teens they groom. Every adult map was once a minor, and the world is full of minor maps who can once become very important for future map history.
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