Transnational Networks of Child Sexual Abuse and Consumerism: Edward Brongersma and the Pedophilia Debate of the 1970s and 1980s

Abstract

I n I t s A u g u s t 1973 I s s u e , the West German gay magazine du&ich reported on the first International Pedophile Meeting in Breda, the Netherlands, which was attended by “about 70 pedophiles and a number of interested listeners from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the Federal Republic and Switzerland.”1 The main purpose of the meeting had been to end the isolation of pedophile men, but there had also been two academic lectures on the subject. In a photo attached to the article, one could see the two Dutch lecturers: the psychologist Dr. Frits Bernard and the lawyer and senator of the Partij van de Arbeid Dr. Edward Brongersma. A closer look at Bernard’s hands reveals an issue of the German educational studies journal betrifft: erziehung from earlier that year. The title theme of this issue had also been pedophilia and the question of its possible decriminalization. Bernard himself had written the central article, in which he formulated the thesis that “nonviolent and consensual” sexual contact with adults was even conducive to child development. With the choice of the issue’s title, “Pedophilia: Crime without Victims,” the editorial team had positioned itself clearly.2 At the meeting in Breda, Bernard distributed