The sexual question

by Auguste Forel

From what we have said it results that a penal action for incest should only take place in the case of minors or insane persons, abuse of strength or power, or rape. The measures of civil law should suffice to reduce other cases of incest to a minimum.

The disgust which the generality of men feel for sexual union between brothers and sisters, and especially between parents and children, is the best protection against incest. The elimination of alcoholism, the superintendence of the insane, and the improvement of our social organization are much more likely than penal laws to lead to the gradual disappearance of incest.

Assaults on Minors.—All assaults on minors should naturally be prosecuted. But prosecution should take a different form according as the culprit is affected with a pathological perverse disposition, or whether it is simply a question of abuse of confidence committed by a normal man. A master who, having no sexual anomaly, commits assaults on young girls, his pupils, should be deprived of the right of teaching in girls' schools, for it is only there that he is dangerous. If, on the other hand, he is affected with perversion (pederasty, etc.), further measures for protection should be taken against him; according to the circumstances.

Sexual Perversions.—When we pass, on to sexual perversions, the inconsequences and mysticism of our present penal law become still more apparent. This code often prosecutes and punishes sexual actions which do no harm to any one, or which two persons practice of their own accord. Such cases may be suitable for moral or medical treatment, but should never justify a penal prosecution. This applies to all the manipulations of onanism, pederasty, masochism, fetichism, etc., which take place between adults by mutual agreement.

What is the use of prosecuting inverts? It is a fortunate thing for society that these psyhcopaths are contented with their mutual sexual intercourse, the result of which is sterile and therefore does no harm to posterity. The real crime is the marriage of an invert to an individual of the opposite sex, and yet this crime is sanctioned by the law! It is a crime against the normal conjoint and against the children who may result from such an unhappy union. By severely punishing homosexual intercourse, the penal laws of many countries provoke the lowest form of blackmail, as Krafft-Ebing, Moll, Hirschfeld and others have proved by numerous examples, and as I have myself confirmed among many of my patients.

It is quite another thing with abnormal or perverse forms of the sexual appetite, which can only be satisfied against the will of their object, or by injuring it more or less severely. Here it is the duty of the law to organize energetic measures of protection; not with a view to punish the pervert, who is a diseased person, but to protect his victims in time.

We will first deal with sadism; secondly with the violation of children. Here a very delicate question arises. In the case of such terrible sexual appetites we should not wait for victims before taking action. On the other hand, we cannot punish a man, nor even take administrative measures against him, simply from the fact that he possesses a dangerous appetite, especially if he is in other respects well-behaved and conscientious, and strives with all his might against his perversion. I have treated a patient who suffered from a terrible pathological appetite of this kind. He was a highly moral man who never harmed any one, but was in a state of despair over his affliction, which he resisted with all his power, seeking relief in masturbation when his passion became too violent.

In such cases, the moral sentiments of an individual offer sufficient social protection, and it is neither the right nor the duty of the physician to denounce him. But he should advise the patient to retire to an asylum to avoid committing a crime, if he feels that he cannot restrain his passions. It is very rare for such cases to come to the knowledge of the public, for these patients prefer to suffer in silence or to commit suicide; but they are none the less instructive and characteristic.

At other times dangerous perversions are discovered by chance, the pervert, instead of resisting his passion, seeking opportunities to satisfy it without discovery. In such cases strong measures should be enforced. Unfortunately, sadists are very well aware of the dangers they run, and know better than any other criminals how to commit their crimes without being discovered. As soon as the perpetrator of a sadic crime is discovered, or simply an attempt at sadism, he should be arrested and placed where he can do no harm. The question of castration arises here: but we do not know yet how far this protects the sadist and his victim against recurrence. If this operation proves efficacious it should never be neglected.

The exhibitionists present great difficulty. They are not dangerous, since they touch nobody. Their "victims," if they can be called so, are girls or women before whom they expose their genital organs and masturbate. No doubt modesty may be much offended by such acts, especially in young girls and children; disgust and fear may also harm them; but I think the law is too severe in these cases, for there is no question of an injury which is dangerous in itself. I have known little girls who have been frightened several times by exhibitionists, but I have never known them injured by the disgust which they experienced. The affair is too ridiculous and too ugly. It would be sufficient to send exhibitionists to an asylum for short periods, unless extreme weakness on their part necessitated prolonged detention.