There's one short answer as to why we need to haul society out of willful ignorance. This MAP explains it in detail, humanising the dehumanised. The article is hosted on one of my favourite prevention sites, so keep reading after you've finished with this one:
WE HAVE TO PROTECT CHILDREN--INCLUDING THE ONES WHO ARE PEDOPHILES

This article in The Walrus was the catalyst for Past the Dark Field. Obviously, the book now has little connection to the article--which, I suppose, is the point of the book.

A link to the 1892 English translation of Richard Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis: Internet Archive.

My copy is my grandfather's 1906 translation (purchased in 1948); there are few differences. The case studies relevant to the short stories are copied at the back of To Be Human Again.