After it hired a former Old Dominion University (ODU) professor who stepped down after making comments defending pedophilia, John’s Hopkins University (JHU) Saturday defended its newest academic.
“[Allyn] Walker is a leader in the field of perpetration prevention research, which is essential for developing a comprehensive public health approach to addressing child sexual abuse and effective prevention programs,” Maria Blackburn, the communications manager at the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, told The Virginia Star
“As a postdoctoral fellow at the Moore Center, they will support multiple, large-scale, ongoing research projects and help identify new projects,” Blackburn said. “Walker’s expertise and qualitative research methodology will enhance and advance the Center’s work.”
Walker uses “they” and “them” as pronouns, to which Blackburn adhered in her comment.
The former ODU professor caused an uproar last year after an interview with non-profit Protasia, which has also been accused of supporting pedophilia.
“… I think it’s important to use terminology for groups that members of that group want others to use for them,” and that “MAP advocacy groups like B4U-Act have advocated for use of the term, and they’ve advocated for it primarily because it’s less stigmatizing than other terms like pedophile,” Walker said in that interview.
“MAP” stands for “Minor Attracted Person.”
“Although I’m not a MAP, myself, I am queer, and so I too, have been through experiences and realized that I have attractions many people wouldn’t understand, and that some people find to be immoral,” Walker said. “And those experiences have really shaped who I’ve become. And so I sort of empathize with those experiences, and I wanted to learn more.”
Walker is also the author of a book called “A Long, Dark Shadow: Minor Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity.”
The Moore Center at JHU says its work is focused on the following:
- Assessing the state of prevention activities and resources at the federal level and developing policy recommendations to align those resources with best prevention practices
- Developing and testing primary prevention programs that target potential victims, potential perpetrators, parents and other adult caregivers, and bystanders
- Empirically evaluating the effects of current sex crime policies.
_ _ _
Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Allyn Walker” by Protasia Foundation.
