This chapter tries to understand child sexual exploitatio (CSE) through the lens of psychodynamic theory. As babies and as children growing up, the chapter considers how a sense of who and how we are supposed to be is developed. It also looks into how one's potentially loving, creative, assertive parts get distorted and damaged, and how one's earliest relationships affect the anxieties driving subsequent behaviours. The chapter examines defence mechanisms against powerlessness and shame. It also seeks to understand why perpetrators and victims often find themselves stuck in certain roles. In this light, the chapter investigates how hatred and guilt, as well as aggression and sexuality, is understood in relation to CSE. In short, the chapter looks at how CSE becomes the focus of intra-psychic and inter-personal dynamics.
