An academic in Virginia whose research on “minor-attracted people” sparked threats and a petition calling for their removal has announced their resignation, university officials and the scholar say.
,"A Long, Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity," published by University of California Press in June.
The publisher described the book, which studies people who are attracted to minors and don't act on the attraction, as"challenging widespread assumptions that persons who are preferentially attracted to minors — often referred to as ‘pedophiles’ — are necessarily also predators and sex offenders.” Walker said in the interview:"I think we have a tendency to want to categorize people with these attractions as evil or morally corrupt. But when we’re talking about non-offending MAPS, these are people who have an attraction that they didn’t ask for. And one that frequently they would do anything to change. But they find that they’re unable to change those attractions. And most importantly, the people in my study did not act on them.
Walker said in Wednesday’s statement that multiple threats had been made against them and thanked the school's public safety department for monitoring the threats. "I am particularly grateful for the outpouring of support from many among the ODU community, as well as others in my research fields who have publicly affirmed the value of my work in advancing child safety," Walker said.