One recent development has been the Republican strategy of accusing their opponents of pedophilia despite a lack of evidence. This typically takes the form of accusing them of being groomers. Transpeople and drag queens are among the most recent targets being accused of being pedophiles, despite the lack of evidence that these people are any more likely to be pedophiles than anyone else.
It should not be surprising that marginalized people are not likely to be pedophiles or groomers. After all, pedophiles and groomers often rely on positions of power or authority to gain access to their victims and shield themselves from both suspicion and consequences.
In my adopted state of Florida, the attack on LGBT+ people has involved false claims about pedophiles and groomers, portraying books referencing LGBT+ people as corrupting or being used to groom children.
The Catholic Church provides an excellent illustration of this and has a page on its sexual abuse cases. For example, in 2024 the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $880 million to settle sex abuse claims, bringing the total to over $1.5 billion.
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