Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. *runs away, ducks, and hides* (Couldn't resist, it needed to be said. sorrynotsorry)
Joking aside, there's creepers and weirdos in many different social communities. Each person is responsible for their own actions. I don't have any ideas on community self-policing etc. Except when a creeper with odious behavior pops up, I will speak out loud and long to shame them and condemn their actions and show my utter disgust for their reprehensible behavior. That's the only thing I as an individual can do. We all play our parts- so maybe if a majority/ a lot of people spoke up to name and shame the degenerates, it would help discourage that behavior in the community. There's no way to completely erradicate it (unless we're gonna do ABDL North Korea-style) but if a lot of people speak up about it in the community it could give the impression/ let any outsiders, vanillas etc know the majority of the community does not condone such behaviors. It won't convince everyone- there's always going to be people who see ABDLs as sick degenerates and associate ABDLs with pedos, etc. We can say we're not until we're blue in the face, some just won't be swayed. I guess that's just human nature. At the end of the day, all I can do is be ashamed/ disgusted by the creepy behavior and speak out when it pops up in an attempt to discourage it in the future.
News outlets tend to like sensationalist headlines. Creepers in the park flashing their genitalia at innocent passersby are a dime a dozen. But a diapered creeper in the park! Hey, now that's front page material! So that just adds more fuel to the "ABDLs are a bunch of sick perverts" schtick.
The idea of positive outreach sounds good! Maybe building bridges could help change some minds. And I strongly agree that the lolita do not own little girl-type fashion and if they get offended by it....well, don't let it make you (a general, public you) feel ashamed of yourself. You know you're not a creeper, and diapers and lolita etc aren't hurting anyone (it's not like taking or selling drugs or being an alcoholic etc) so I say keep doing what you enjoy. Life's too short.