“While we can control, to some extent, our actions, we cannot consciously control our obsessions.”
The pedophile’s excuse, too.
Not an excuse, a fact. Obsessions, by definition, are not controllable by choice.
If you can decide to think about something else at will, it’s just not an obsession.
Now most people can control whether they choose to act on an obsession or not.
But they can be very, very strong. It’s generally conceded that child molesters have a recidivism rate of over 90%.
Some states and countries allow for surgical or chemical castration, usually voluntary. Studies I’ve seen for participants have recidivism under 10%, mostly.
Over 90% to under 10%. Admittedly these were volunteers and therefore didn’t want the obsessions. But I think it shows how powerful sexual obsession driven by hormones can be. Take away the hormonal component and the recidivism rate drops like a rock.
Pedophilia refers to the desire, not the action. Not all pedophiles are evil people, notably those who choose to castrate themselves rather than harm more children.