BYÂ OLIVIA CAVALLARO
The administration at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia have decided to place Dr. Allyn Walker on administrative leave following his controversial statements defending individuals who are sexually attracted to minors. He argued that they all should not be called pedophiles, but instead “minor-attracted persons” or “MAPs.”
“A lot of people when they hear the term ‘pedophile,’ they automatically assume that it means a sex offender, and that isn’t true,” Walker, who identifies as “non-binary,” said during an interview promoting his book, “A Long Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity,” the New York Post reported then. The Virginia sociology and criminal justice professor argued that using the term pedophile causes “misconceptions” about people who are attracted to minors.