BLOG POST
With unprecedented increase in online crimes of sexual violence against children, more offender-focused, primary prevention initiatives emerge in attempt to tackle these crimes at their root. One of the ways to reduce the risks children face online is to rehabilitate offenders, informing them of available support resources and motivating them to seek help. By doing this, we can address crimes of sexual violence against children before the harm is done, prevent victimization and revictimization of more children as well as alleviate pressure on the criminal justice and healthcare systems.
Our ReDirection project research demonstrated that offenders do want to positively change their behaviour:
50% of respondents to ‘Help us to help’ you survey of anonymous child sexual abuse material users shared that they would like to stop viewing CSAM.
62% of respondents have already tried to stop, however unsuccessfully. Many have shared that they need external assistance to secure behavioural change.
In October 2022, Protect Children joined the European Union (EU) funded project 2PS – Prevent & Protect through Support. Project 2PS is represented by a large consortium of 20 members from 14 different countries united by the common goal of protecting children by addressing the support needs of people with sexual interest in children and individuals who are concerned about their thoughts involving children, offering them alternative pathways.
Project 2PS aims to:
Develop culture-sensitive policy recommendations on child sexual abuse prevention methods applicable throughout the European Union.
Increase awareness among people with sexual interest in children on available support services to prevent further offences.
Increase knowledge of individuals with sexual interest in children and the need to guide them to behavioural change in order to prevent offending.
Enhance prevention actions by developing training materials for law enforcement agencies and frontline staff, networking among stakeholders and conducting awareness campaigns.
Share policy recommendations on how to enable prevention methods across the EU that address the challenges of sociocultural divisions and approaches.
When protecting children, we must focus on not allowing the crime to occur in the first place. To achieve this, we need to learn more about offenders, and put this invaluable knowledge to practice. 2PS fosters strong international collaboration to develop effective intervention and prevention strategies, offering a paradigm shift in the approach to tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Learn more on 2PS website:
Follow the progress of Project 2PS on social media: