Better First Aid for Child Molestation

What is the first thing a Jew must do in case of sexual child abuse? Call the cops! Of course.

But as a Jew who believes that the police should not exist in their current, public form, this doesn’t inspire enthusiasm. How are the police doing in all other areas…? The only reason to use their services is that the only choice is between that and nothing. If, and when, competing, private security firms and courts are decriminalized and unhampered, government excesses and shortcomings in this area become unforgivable.

This includes:

So what?

So going to the police will not always be the right move, and, even in the present time, perhaps not in every country on the globe. If you can wrangle something other than sterilization and\or welfare until parole, this might be the answer.

Society as a Safeguard Against Sin

I don’t recall the precise social-science terminology for the following concept, but there must be some neat one. Anyway, the Mishna in Avos says to acquire a friend. Rabbenu Yonah ‘on site’ explains one aspect of this advice, using a known Talmudic principle (in a wider sense): אין אדם חוטא ולא לו; one does not sin for another’s benefit. Therefore, having a friend, even one no more righteous than myself exerts a degree of pressure on me to refrain from transgressing.

That is, sin is a selfish endeavor. Or, put in a spiritual way, my friend’s evil inclination does not lead him to encourage me. What is left? The less subjective nature of wrongdoing; harmful in this world, the next world, or both.

As the Gemara says: כשאדם עובר עבירה אומר ולוואי שלא יראני אדם