Use of the term pedophile doesn’t mean requiring pedophiles to carry around a sign identifying themselves as such, and doesn’t deny them opportunities for professional help.
The perspective of an advocate for child sex abuse victims may be useful.
“There is a nascent movement, largely led by parents of youth who were labeled as abusers, to push back on sex offender lists and to rename the offenders with more forgiving labels,” said (Marci) Hamilton, founder and CEO of Child USA."
“They may have a point with child-on-child abuse, because when it comes to juveniles, they can receive treatment that will dramatically reduce their likelihood of repeating the crime. Few, however, receive the therapy they need. But this movement is undermining child protection when they seek labels like “minor-attracted persons” for all perpetrators, which normalizes this heinous crime against children.”
“Child sex offenders have earned the moral stigma attached to “pedophile” or “ephebophile”, which refers to adults who are sexually attracted to adolescents, Hamilton argued.”
“Attempting to make the perpetrator a victim rather than the child is another example of how our culture persistently tends to favor adults to the detriment of the children,” she said. “These sorts of labels muddy the clarity we need to actually protect all children from child abusers.”
It’s not unreasonable that adult sexual attraction to children should carry a stigma.