Introduction: The Illusion of Choice

For many, gambling is seen as a form of entertainment, a voluntary activity where personal responsibility is paramount. We’re told to gamble responsibly. But, if things go wrong, the blame is often placed on the individual’s lack of self-control. 

But what if that entire narrative is a dangerous fiction?

A new public health study reveals gambling harm is not an unfortunate side effect of a few people’s poor choices. Instead, it is the calculated outcome of a powerful and deliberate “gambling ecosystem” designed to maximize profit at a severe human cost.

This system operates using tactics that public health experts call the “commercial determinants of health.” The same strategies used by the tobacco and fossil fuel to drive profit by undermining public wellbeing. 

This post will reveal five of the most impactful insights from the study, exposing the hidden truths of an industry that has mastered the art of engineering harm.

1. The “Responsible Gambling” Slogan is Designed to Blame YOU

The familiar phrase “gamble responsibly” is not a genuine public health message but a strategic discourse meticulously promoted by the industry. The primary function of this narrative is to shift the focus, and the blame, onto the individual consumer.

By framing harm as a personal failing, it deflects attention. It deflects it from:

• Predatory industry practices
• Unsafe products
• A system that profits from addiction

This blame-shifting has severe consequences, creating a culture of shame that prevents people from seeking help and isolates them when they are most vulnerable. As the study’s authors note: 

This emphasis on individual responsibility diverts attention from the practices of the industry. It generates stigma and shame for those harmed. It downplays serious harms caused by gambling. Worst of all: it contributes to the suicide toll. 

This psychological framing is so damaging because it convinces individuals that their suffering is their own fault, making it harder to recognize the external forces at play and seek the support they need. 

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?

Stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

2. The Gambling Industry’s Goal is For You to “Play to Extinction”

Behind the glamorous advertising and messages of entertainment lies a stark and chilling internal objective. The study highlights a term used by gambling industry representatives to describe their core aim: “playing to extinction.” 

This isn’t an exaggeration; it’s the industry’s own vocabulary for its business model:

“…gambling industry representatives describe their aim is to maximise revenue per available customer (revpac), and encourage ‘playing to extinction’, the point at which a customer has exhausted all available funds.”

The phrase has a chilling double meaning.

It refers to the financial extinction of a customer’s funds, but in the context of gambling-related suicide, it acquires a much darker significance.

The industry’s profit model depends on pushing customers into the exact states of financial ruin and profound despair that are known precursors to suicide. It is a business model that treats human crisis as a key performance indicator. Rather than a tragic crisis.

3. Products are Engineered to Undermine Your Control

Modern gambling products, especially digital ones, are not simple games of chance. They have been intentionally intensified with features like:

• Increased speed
• High complexity
• “Frictionless” transactions

All designed to encourage extended use and bypass a person’s executive function. 

The industry also employs digital tactics like sludging. Deliberately designing interactions to make it difficult for customers to act in their own best interest. Such as withdrawing funds or closing an account. This tactic also manifests physically. For 15 years, the Australian industry has resisted modern, universal pre-commitment systems that allow users to set binding loss limits. Instead, it has relied on a form of physical sludging: “manual, paper-based self-exclusion” that requires a person to fill out separate forms for every single venue they wish to avoid. 

Product design also deploys psychological tricks to encourage overspending.

The study points out that a single ticket in the Australian “Powerball” lottery can be priced as high as AUD$46,249.65. This serves as a psychological anchor. While few would buy it, its existence makes spending smaller—yet still exorbitant—amounts like hundreds or thousands of dollars seem reasonable by comparison.

Need support and not local to the Lehigh Valley? Check out the LGBT National Help Center.

4. “Good Causes” are Used as a Smokescreen

A common defense of the gambling industry is that it funds worthy causes, from sports teams to community charities. The research argues this is a calculated strategy to create an “‘alibi’ to legitimise gambling operations” and procure a “social license” to operate. 

This linkage creates a “symbiotic, reflexive relationship” where community groups become financially captured. Reliant on gambling revenue, these beneficiaries become powerful allies in resisting reforms that could threaten their funding, even if those reforms would reduce harm. This insidious dependency creates a powerful barrier to reform. 

As one researcher observed, the dynamic is inescapable: 

… at first the lottery was primarily dependent on the good cause and then, gradually, the good cause became increasingly dependent on the lottery. 

5. The Gambling Industry Distorts Science and Influences Policy

Like the tobacco and fossil fuel industries before it, the gambling ecosystem actively works to control and distort the scientific evidence base to protect its interests. The study identifies two key tactics: 

• Funding “safe” research: The industry funds and promotes research focused on the individual, such as the influential “pathways model.” This model frames gambling harm as an artifact of pre-existing conditions like “antisocial personality disorder,” thereby shifting blame from the addictive product to the flawed consumer. 
• Discrediting effective solutions: The ecosystem publicly casts doubt on proven harm-prevention tools. The paper cites an industry-linked researcher who claimed that universal pre-commitment systems might have a “detrimental effect and may aggravate the problem.” Crucially, the study notes that a subsequent review of the evidence cited for this claim found “no support for this conclusion,” noting the studies had significant “methodological limitations.” This reveals a pattern of distorting weak evidence to undermine effective public health measures. 

This distortion of science is coupled with political donations and the “revolving door”—where politicians and staff take industry jobs after leaving office—to block or delay meaningful reforms that could save lives.

Conclusion: Shifting from Individual Blame to Systemic Accountability

The evidence is clear: gambling harm is not a simple story of poor individual choices. It is the predictable and profitable result of a commercial system meticulously designed to addict users, shift blame, and protect its revenue streams at all costs. From manipulative product design to the distortion of science, the gambling ecosystem functions as a commercial determinant of health, actively generating and sustaining harm. 

This reframing moves the problem from one of personal responsibility to one of systemic accountability. Seeing the deliberate system that drives these harms, what does real responsibility—from our governments, communities, and the industry itself—truly look like?

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

The post 5 Hidden Ways the Gambling Industry Engineers Harm first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had the time to write what’s been on my mind, but I can’t wait any longer: What can be done about the growing number of sex offenders?

My practice is growing. We are adding groups in both of our offices. While that is a good thing for my business, that’s a really bad thing for society.

Some Background About my Experience with Sex Offenders

In addition to running a therapy practice that works with individuals who have committed sex crimes, I have other gigs.

One of them is as an instructor for a school that teaches law enforcement officers to conduct polygraph examinations. I spend 20 hours with them teaching them about psychology. Last month, I spent my first day with this cohort.

One of the 18 attendees was an officer from North Carolina who is the ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) officer for his department. He shared with me the weekly email that he gets from NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).

This is one of the places that people report sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation materials, etc. They keep excellent statistics and ICAC officers get the data each week. I am a data geek and therefore asked if he could forward me the information.

My jaw dropped. Speechless.

I quickly moved into feeling overwhelmed and a bit of despair.

With nearly 20 years in the industry, I know it is bad out there. I know it is REALLY BAD.

But, I didn’t know it was this bad.

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Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

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Here’s a Snapshot

The NCMEC report that he forwarded me provided the following numbers:

In one week, NCMEC’s Cybertip line received 503,139 reports JUST from Electronic Service Providers (Kik, Snapchat, etc.)

That is over half a million reports in one week.

The public made nearly an additional 2500 reports in that week. Of those more than half million reports made just to the CyberTipline that week, over 480,000 of them were for CSAM.

To date, this year only, there have been over 12 million CSAM reports to the CyberTipline.

But there is no way for law enforcement to police these numbers.

They simply do not have the manpower to investigate every one of these tips. They not only have to investigate tips sent to their jurisdictions, they also have all other crimes to deal with outside of the CyberTipline.

There is also, unfortunately, no way to get all of the CSAM off of the web. It just can’t be done.

Again, it’s a workforce and technology thing.

I shared this with one of my colleagues at work and got a message that night that it is stuck in his head, too.

What Do We Do?

When I ask that question, I am asking it outside of the law enforcement/legal system.

I am tired of there not being really any primary prevention for CSAM use. Or any other type of sexual offending.

I am also not at all an expert in prevention outside of my work. My work is secondary or tertiary prevention depending on your point of view.

The thing that comes to mind is Education.

Parents need more education about pornography and what’s happening online.

Furthermore, children need more education and pornography literacy information.

And what do we do for the people who are engaging in offending or who are attracted to children and not offending and want to keep it that way?

We need to normalize therapy.

If you have never heard of Project Dunkelfeld in Germany, check it out. It’s one of the best examples of primary prevention of sex offenders I can point to.

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Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

• How to do Primary Prevention and More
• Help for Minor Attraction
• Research: CSAM on the Dark Web
• You Are Not a Monster: Review of a Long Dark Shadow
• Search: Primary Prevention on Dr. Jen’s Recovery Readings

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Next Steps in Dealing with Sex Offenders

Right now, I have no answers.

Thinking about what I can do about prevention is going to be renting a lot of space in my head for a while.

I implore all of you to think about what you can do as well.

Yes, we need to continue to report abuse when it happens.

But, wouldn’t the world be better if we could figure out how to stop sex offenders from offending in the first place?

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses? Then you should stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

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Are you a Licensed Professional Counselor seeking engaging, unique Continuing Education courses? Dr. Weeks offers accredited courses on her practice website on the effects of Pornography Abstinence and other unique topics!

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post Sex Offenders: What can be done? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

My reading over coffee this morning was a great article in Time Magazine about moving the US toward the primary prevention of child sexual abuse, a front page Wall Street Journal article about child predators using TikTok to gain access to victims and my first moderately threatening troll comments on a webinar on my YouTube page.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

Primary Prevention vs Secondary Prevention

Let’s start with the Time Magazine article. This article, entitled America Has been going about stopping child sex abuse the wrong way, was written by Elizabeth Letourneau and Luke Malone.

Elizabeth Letourneau is the Director of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse at John Hopkins. Luke Malone is an award winning journalist who writes about child sexual abuse and victimization.

Reading this article this morning felt very validating.

When I teach to LEO or other mental health professionals, I discuss how the US is very good at secondary prevention but not so good at primary prevention. Meaning, once we catch someone AFTER they have abused a child, the system is relatively good at holding them accountable. That includes: mandating treatment during incarceration and/or after while the person is on probation or parole.

This is secondary prevention. We work hard to prevent ANOTHER sexual assault from happening.

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?

Stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

How should we do Primary Prevention?

Primary prevention, meaning we prevent the FIRST sexual assault from happening is not something our system is very good at.

Much of the teaching puts the onus on potential victims to stop potential assault rather than putting the responsibility on the abuser. This would be primary prevention.

Some other countries have done a better job at this and I point to Project Dunkelfeld in Germany. There, a person who is concerned they may offend against a child can call a program and receive treatment. The treatment program is publicly advertised and funded.

In the United States, for every $1 spent toward prevention research, $2700 is spent on incarcerating offenders. They also discuss current research projects that are working on ways of improving and increasing primary prevention in the US.

The authors have a book coming out at some point which I look forward to reading.

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Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

• How to do Primary Prevention and More
• Help for Minor Attraction
• Research: CSAM on the Dark Web
• You Are Not a Monster: Review of a Long Dark Shadow
• Search: Primary Prevention on Dr. Jen’s Recovery Readings

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Child Predators on TikTok

This app has made it big! They made it to the front page of the Wall Street Journal, a paper noted more for discussing financial markets than sexual abuse.

The WSJ featured an article discussing how TikTok has quickly become an avenue for child abusers to find and groom victims.

Those of us in the field have known this for some time.

It’s good to see it make the front page. Perhaps parents will read the article and start to monitor what their children are doing on the app. Frequently, there is little parental oversight on social media apps which leads some children to be vulnerable to predation.

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If you’re unfamiliar with sextortion, check out Dr. Jen’s article How to Protect Your Child from Sextortion.

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YouTube Trolls

Finally, to my first troll. I awoke this morning to some comments on a webinar on my YouTube channel about treating individuals with pedophilia. The comments were not surprising, but disappointing.

The person commented that I was an “intellectual” who should be “purged.” They made traditionally stereotypical comments about people who commit sex crimes needing to be beat up or killed. Though, in my mind, I made many replies, I have long ago learned that social media repartee with folks with strong but uninformed opinions goes nowhere.

So, to end my morning coffee, I simply reported them for making threats. Then I began my day of working in secondary prevention of sexual abuse.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses? Then you should stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

For an in-depth guide on talking to your adolescents about cybersex and pornography, check out Dr. Jen’s book. Amazon | BookBaby

The post How to do Primary Prevention and More first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Based on science and clinical experience that there are individuals who acknowledge an attraction to children, also known as minor attraction. 

What do we Really Know About Minor Attraction?

The most recent science about minor attraction suggests that the age of the people we are attracted to is influenced by our brain structures and not a choice. Many people who have this attraction also have NOT engaged in any behavior with a child. Because they realize that acting on their attraction is never appropriate.

Where can those afflicted by these urges go for help? How do they ensure they never act on these urges or to process their feelings?

Preparing a sentencing report for a minor attracted person? Get the data you need, quickly, with Mitigation Aide.

• Characteristics of Male Internet Only Child Pornography Offenders
• Comparing Child Pornography Offenders to Child Contact Offenders: What’s the Difference?
• Updated Review of Online Child Pornography Offender Research

Where can they go?

Most of the time they do not seek help for fear of what may happen if they disclose this attraction. Because the fear of stigmatization is a real and justified fear. 

Many therapists are not trained to help process this form of sexuality. And, worse yet, many refuse to do so. 

There have been a few scientific studies of therapists. These studies have found that they hold the same stigma against pedophilia as the general public. So much for non-judgmental!

Where might someone go for treatment who wants to process their minor attraction? While there are therapists out there who are trained to help people process this attraction, these resources are few and far between.

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Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

• How to do Primary Prevention and More
• Help for Minor Attraction
• Research: CSAM on the Dark Web
• You Are Not a Monster: Review of a Long Dark Shadow
• Search: Primary Prevention on Dr. Jen’s Recovery Readings

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Enter: Troubled Desire

Doctors at The Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine at Charite-Universitatsmedzin Berlin created Troubled Desire specifically for this purpose. The website provides an anonymous online self-management program for individuals who experience an attraction to children. The University acknowledged that there was a great need for services for individuals who could not find a suitable therapist near them.  

The University is practicing Primary Prevention. By providing resources and support for individuals who are attracted to children who have not offended. This means helping people not offend against children in the first place. 

Unfortunately, the normal state of affairs is that we engage in secondary prevention. Therefore we help someone not offend AGAIN.

Know someone struggling with minor attraction? I suggest they check out the free, anonymous online course from Troubled Desire. 

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post Help for Minor Attraction first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Protect Children is a non-governmental not-for-profit organization, based out of Finland that recently published the results of their survey related to the ReDirection Project which looked at CSAM on the Dark Web. 

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

Article originally appeared on the Mitigation Aide Research Archive on June 23, 2022.

About the ReDirection Project

The project aims to help consumers of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) by providing them an anonymous and self-directed program designed for individuals who view CSAM. The ReDirection Project is the organization’s effort to provide primary prevention of child sexual abuse and exploitation.  

In 2020, they had two surveys on their website. The main survey, Help Us Help You, was for individuals who felt they needed some help with their CSAM production. The second survey was for those who felt they did not need help but were consuming CSAM materials. 

Preparing a sentencing report for a minor attracted person? Get the data you need, quickly, with Mitigation Aide.

• Characteristics of Male Internet Only Child Pornography Offenders
• Comparing Child Pornography Offenders to Child Contact Offenders: What’s the Difference?
• Updated Review of Online Child Pornography Offender Research

The Report about CSAM on the Dark Web

The recently published report is the result of over 8400 responses to the surveys. Survey respondents were all users of the dark web to consume CSAM materials.

The authors provide 6 main bullet point results from the survey:

1. A large number of individuals who consumed CSAM materials want to or have tried to stop using it in the past but have been unsuccessful in their attempts to stop.
2. 70% of the survey respondents stated that they had first been exposed to CSAM materials before they were 18 years old. Almost 40% were first exposed to CSAM prior to the age of 13. 
3. Almost half of the respondents (45%) view CSAM materials of girls aged 4 to 13 years old. 
4. More than half of the survey respondents have feared that their viewing of CSAM materials might lead them to a contact offense with a child. 
5. Nearly half of the survey respondents have watched actual child abuse on a livestream feed.
6. More research is needed.  As most research is conducted with individuals who are convicted of CSAM crimes, knowledge from those not arrested can be informative.  

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Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

• How to do Primary Prevention and More
• Help for Minor Attraction
• Research: CSAM on the Dark Web
• You Are Not a Monster: Review of a Long Dark Shadow
• Search: Primary Prevention on Dr. Jen’s Recovery Readings

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Specific Results of the Survey

• 70% of survey respondents first saw CSAM prior to the age of 18. Nearly 40% were under the age of 13.
• 51% first came across CSAM material by accident.
• 43% of survey respondents have been watching CSAM material for 1 to 4 weeks.
• 55% view illegal material occasionally.
• 45% view CSAM of girls between the ages of 4 and 13.
• 50% would like to stop viewing CSAM materials.
• 62% have tried to stop viewing CSAM materials at some point.
• For those who have stopped viewing CSAM, the main motivator was the negative feelings of guilt and shame.
• 45% have seen live streamed CSAM material.
• At some point in their CSAM use, 62% of respondents felt they were unable to control their use.
• 48% did not feel that their CSAM use made them afraid of a contact sexual offense.
• 56% reported that they never thought about direct sexual contact with a child after viewing CSAM.
• 63% of the CSAM users stated that they never sought direct contact with a child with the remainder seeking said contact anywhere from rarely to every time.
• About half the respondents had thought about or attempted suicide or self-harm.
• 58% never thought about telling anyone about their CSAM use.
• 54% of CSAM users stated they never had (29%) or never wanted (25%) contact with other CSAM users.

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Then take this free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

Limitations of the Study

First: it is a survey of dark web users. 

It is possible that the survey results are not generalizable to other populations. 

Second: inherent in any voluntary survey, there is the possibility that there are characteristics of those willing to take a survey that are different from those individuals who chose not to, again possibly affecting the generalizability of the results. 

The Real Value of the Study

The authors are correct in that most of our knowledge of individuals who consume CSAM materials comes from people who have been arrested for its possession. Therefore, all data misses a huge segment of people, those who are viewing the material and not getting caught. Additionally, the more we know about the consumers of CSAM, the better able we are to create prevention programs to help decrease the use of CSAM at a primary prevention level.

Reference: Insoll, T, Ovaska, A & Vaaranen-Valkonen, N. (2022).  CSAM users in the Dark Web.  https://protectchildren.fi/2021/09/23/redirection-survey-report/

Article originally appeared on the Mitigation Aide Research Archive on June 23, 2022.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

For an in-depth guide on talking to your adolescents about cybersex and pornography, check out Dr. Jen’s book. Amazon | BookBaby

The post Research: CSAM on the Dark Web first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

As a member of the professional community that works with Minor Attracted Persons as well as individuals who have committed sex crimes, I was immediately aware of the controversy surrounding Dr. Allyn Walker and the publication of their book A Long Dark Shadow:  Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity. 

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

Dr. Walker is a professor and researcher who focuses on various aspects of human sexuality. The book is the result of a qualitative study they did using interviews of individuals in the MAP community. This research was done in a completely appropriate and professional manner with the full support of their academic institution.

Fallout from A Long Dark Shadow

After an interview discussing the book, Dr. Walker became the subject (or victim) of social media. There was immediate pushback from people at their university stating that they were promoting child abuse or other similar complaints. 

The comments went crazy. 

This initially resulted in the university placing them on leave. I imagine the hope was that the fervor would die down. Dr. Walker ultimately resigned from their position based on the harassment and death threats they were receiving. 

All of this for what?  People, who had not read the book, getting upset by assumptions. 

People misconstruing Dr. Walker’s statements, which clearly stated that sexual abuse of children is abhorrent and unacceptable, as being supportive of sexual offending. It is because of this controversy that I immediately purchased the book. The topic is of interest but my main motivation for purchase was to support Dr. Walker.

Struggling with excessive sexual thoughts, urges, or activities that are causing you distress? Take the free, online Sexual Symptom Assessment Scale (SSAS) and get a link to share with your therapist.

My Review

I will start this review by saying that if I were ever to write a book about minor attraction, this is the book I would write. 

The first thing I felt upon reading it was a great sense of validation. 

Yes! 

There are other psychology professionals in the world who understand that pedophilia ≠ sexual offending. There are other psychology professionals willing to spread the word. 

I am an adjunct professor for a local graduate program as well as an instructor of a law enforcement polygraphy school. 

Everyone who has ever had a class with me leaves (hopefully) with a clear understanding of the differences between attraction and behavior and that pedophilia is a sexual attraction and not a behavior AND that there are plenty of people in the world who are attracted to children who never commit a sexual offense. 

The Real Research Behind A Long Dark Shadow

The book is based on Dr. Walker’s research which involved extensive interviews with people who identify as minor attracted. These individuals were brave enough to come forward to a psychology professional, who they often duly distrust, to share their stories. The chapters focus on many aspects of living with a minor attraction.

The first chapter discusses identity formation. MAPS themselves often share the negative views held by society about minor attraction and struggle to integrate their own sexual interest into their identity. Many of them questioning, “Am I a Monster” which is a question I have heard in my office many times.

The book continues to address the effect of societal shame on MAPS.

Many people, due to stigma, feel that they have to live a dual life and never disclose their minor attraction. They fear rejection from family, partners, loved ones, friends and society at large. Unfortunately, this fear is not unfounded as many also do experience that rejection. 

Often this living a dual life can lead to depression, anxiety, or even suicidal thoughts for some. 

Preparing a sentencing report for a minor attracted person? Get the data you need, quickly, with Mitigation Aide.

• Characteristics of Male Internet Only Child Pornography Offenders
• Comparing Child Pornography Offenders to Child Contact Offenders: What’s the Difference?
• Updated Review of Online Child Pornography Offender Research

Strategies for Coping

Subsequent chapters deal with the strategies they use to cope with their own attractions as well as to refrain from sexual offending. Many MAPS acknowledge an attraction to children but do not have a desire to physically act on those attractions. This goes against a societal assumption. As the book states, we don’t assume all adult attracted people are walking around actively thinking about raping other adults so why do we think this about minor attracted people? 

However, the reality cannot be ignored that some MAPS do, in fact, not resist these urges and sexually abuse children. The book also discusses what strategies some of the individuals use to avoid engaging in any type of contact sexual offense. 

Medical Professional Reactions

Another book chapter discusses MAP’s experiences with mental health professionals. 

This chapter is upsetting to me as a mental health professional but an expression of reality. People avoid seeking therapy to help cope with the attraction, stigma, shame, or other mental health issues around the minor attraction for many reasons. 

They fear, rightly, that many therapists will have a negative reaction to their disclosure and will refuse to treat them. They often fear that a therapist will make an unwarranted call to children and youth, or the police based on the disclosure of an attraction, not based on any behavior. While some might think this is farfetched, I have experienced this in my own practice, hearing of other therapists thinking they need to make a mandatory report when a client says they have an attraction to minors but never disclosed any behavior in that direction. 

A final concern for some MAPS that keeps them from treatment is the fear that a therapist might try to engage in a sexual orientation change experience. Basically, the minor attraction equivalent of conversion therapy. We know that we cannot change sexual attractions, and many consider SOCE to be inhumane or unethical. 

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Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

• How to do Primary Prevention and More
• Help for Minor Attraction
• Research: CSAM on the Dark Web
• You Are Not a Monster: Review of a Long Dark Shadow
• Search: Primary Prevention on Dr. Jen’s Recovery Readings

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Final Thoughts

The plea to reduce stigma against individuals who are attracted to minors is twofold. 

The one that comes to mind first for many is to help with primary prevention. For those MAPS who do struggle with urges to act on their desires, providing safe spaces to work through these urges and work on resilience techniques can help keep a child safe as well as keep the person from engaging in a behavior that everyone knows is not appropriate. 

The main reason to reduce stigma, particularly by therapists, is that MAPs are people. 

They are just as deserving of a safe place to work through their issues with depression, anxiety, stigma, grief, and loss, etc. as the rest of us. They deserve a safe space and a nonjudgmental professional to work with that can help them improve their general health and wellbeing. 

If you have an interest in this topic, I strongly urge you to read this book. I will be incorporating it into our treatment program for those individuals who are minor attracted. 

I don’t want to make this disclaimer but given the nature of our world and the internet, I feel that I need to say that supporting Dr. Walker, this book, and the reduction of stigma against minor attraction in no way supports harming children. 

It actually supports working to prevent child abuse.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

The post You Are Not a Monster: Review of A Long Dark Shadow first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

What are Minor Attracted Persons (MAPs)? Let’s talk about the things that make us uncomfortable and learn in the process.

There were many research presentations this year at the ATSA conference relating to MAPs.

This was great to see! From a scientific perspective, we just don’t know much about the MAP community. Therefore, we don’t know about their needs or how to help those who seek it. 

What are Minor Attracted Persons?

Very few people are aware of the term. MAP is the acronym for a Minor Attracted Persons.

As a therapist I need to be specific, although the media tends to lump everyone into a single category.

• Pedophilia – the name for the attraction to prepubescent children (typically 12 and under). We use this for diagnosis, DSM-V, and research purposes.
• Hebephilia – the name for the attraction to pubescent children (not pre- or post- pubescent; typically 13-17 year olds). Again, we tend to use this term for diagnosis, not in the DSM-V, and research purposes.
• MAP – Minor Attracted Persons. A non-diagnostic umbrella term for a person who is attracted to children. There is no specific age nor pubertal status associated with this label.

The Minor Attracted Persons Debate

There are some people who do not like the Minor Attracted Persons (MAP) moniker. 

I have heard these arguments from people in both research and supervision. The argument loosely goes like this:

“The MAP label is not descriptive enough.” 

“It lumps all minors together and does not distinguish between prepubescent, pubescent, and post-pubescent attraction.”

I understand these arguments when it comes to research. There is not enough scientific research in the community looking at any type of attraction to minors. 

To lump pedophilia and hebephilia together for research purposes assumes that there are no differences between people who have these attractions.

While this may be the case, due to lack of research, we just don’t know. It is better to look at these groups separately until we can definitively say they are similar enough to put in the same research subject category.

Preparing a sentencing report for a minor attracted person? Get the data you need, quickly, with Mitigation Aide.

• Characteristics of Male Internet Only Child Pornography Offenders
• Comparing Child Pornography Offenders to Child Contact Offenders: What’s the Difference?
• Updated Review of Online Child Pornography Offender Research

Treatment Providers

I am neither a MAP, nor a researcher. I am a treatment provider.

If someone has engaged in sexual offenses, it’s imperative to know their arousal template. It allows us to help them manage unwanted or illegal behavior.

However, I will argue, once we’ve made the diagnosis, we no longer need to continue to use the pedophile language, particularly with our clients.

Why do we need a different term?

I am going to make an assumption, based on my work with clients, that the main reason to use the term Minor Attracted Persons is due to shame and stigma. 

The general public, fueled by sensationalist media, equate pedophile with child molester. 

There is an assumption made that someone who is attracted to children either has or will eventually sexually offend with a child. 

Bluntly, this is not true. Attraction is not a behavior. 

While pedophilia and sexual offending are related, they are not synonymous. The label of pedophile is stigmatizing. There is no way around that truth.

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?

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Shame, Stigma, and Minor Attracted Persons

I recently learned of the work of Braithwaite (1989) and how this researcher classified shame. 

Braithwaite argued that there were two types of shame, reintegrative and disintegrative: 

“Reintegrative shaming is temporary, used to communicate censure to an individual, but ultimately aimed at correcting a person’s behavior and, for offenders, reintegrating them back into the community. Disintegrative shaming is a more permanent and reoccurring shame, resulting in a master status that encourages stigmatization and breaks the bond between the person and the community (Bailey & Klein, 2018)” 

I learned of this work when researching the effects of the sex offender registry on the people who have to register.

Reducing Shame as Primary Prevention

In the public’s eyes attraction to children equals child molesting. Therefore, those who are attracted to children get put in this category without ever hurting anyone.

If they come forward for treatment or talk about their attraction to family or friends they can face the disintegrative shame that encourages stigmatization.

Research Relating to Minor Attracted Persons

Levenson and Grady (2019) recently published work where they spoke to MAPs about their experiences. Specifically, this study looked at people seeking help for their attraction. 

The subjects of this study reported that they often felt isolated and alone with their feelings. 

They also experienced feelings of shame, fear and expected to be misunderstood by people, including therapists. 

Particularly distressing was finding that therapists wanted to “cure” the minor attraction. However, the client wanted to work on concerns such as depression or loneliness and not specifically their minor attraction.

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Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

• How to do Primary Prevention and More
• Help for Minor Attraction
• Research: CSAM on the Dark Web
• You Are Not a Monster: Review of a Long Dark Shadow
• Search: Primary Prevention on Dr. Jen’s Recovery Readings

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Back to the Beginning: Why Terminology Matters

From a person centered, trauma informed perspective, we should be using appropriate terms rather than potentially increasing shame and isolation.

From a public education standpoint, I would like to see the term de-coupled from people who sexually offend against children.

Misuse of the term pedophile is one of my soap boxes. I will forever argue about semantics and how the word is used. I’m tired of the media misusing the word and equating it to child sexual abuse. 

I challenge you to think about these issues for yourself: 

Can you accept that some people are attracted to children? 

Can you accept that it’s not a choice?

Will you decry the assumption that every person who is attracted to children is going to offend?

To end, I will leave you with something heard more than frequently in graduate school.

Correlation is not causation.

References: Bailey, D.J.S. & Klein, J.L. (2018). Ashamed and Alone: Comparing offender and family member experiences with the sex offender registry. Criminal Justice Review, 43(4), 440-457. Braithwaite, J. (1989).  Crime, Shame and Reintegration.  Cambridge, England, Cambridge University. Levinson, J.S. & Grady, M.D. (2019).  Preventing sexual abuse:  Perspectives of Minor Attracted Persons About Seeking Help.  Sexual Abuse, 31(8), 991-1013.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

The post Do Minor Attracted Persons Make Your Skin Crawl? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

It’s easy to tell when a bit of science about pedophilia is brought out to the general public. There is usually a rash of negative memes. Usually it’s implied, by agreeing with the emerging science, the writers or researchers are condoning the sexual abuse of children.

Recently, Dr. James Cantor, a highly respected and published researcher who focuses on the study of pedophilia, appeared on an Australian news show to discuss his findings. 

He shared his research, which involves brain scans and neuroscience and shows the fascinating differences people have in their brain structures. Furthermore, it suggests people with pedophilia are born with this attraction. Therefore, it’s not something they can change.

What is Pedophilia?

Enter the memes and where I get on my soapbox and continue to spout science and education.

I have written about this topic before because it is something that I feel strongly about. I feel very strongly about it being accurately portrayed in the lay community.

Pedophilia is a sexual arousal to a person who is prepubescent; the age is not the important thing. However, what is important is the attraction is to a child’s body that has NOT started the physiological changes associated with puberty. 

If a person is attracted to pubescent or post pubescent children, that is considered hebephilia. 

Struggling with excessive sexual thoughts, urges, or activities that are causing you distress? Take the free, online Sexual Symptom Assessment Scale (SSAS) and get a link to share with your therapist.

What isn’t Pedophilia?

Pedophilia is NOT a behavior. 

I believe that this is one of the most common myths in the non-scientific community. 

Pedophilia is an attraction. Actions are behavior. 

The frequently cited concern is that every person who has a pedophilic arousal template is a child molester. 

Not true. 

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?

Stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

Why do People Offend Against Children?

Some people sexually abuse children because they are attracted to them. 

Some people sexually abuse children for reasons that don’t have much to do with sexual attraction. 

For example: issues of power and control, distorted thinking, emotionally connecting with children in an inappropriate manner that becomes sexualized. 

Some people who are attracted to children never engage in any sexual contact with them, nor do they view images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). 

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Why am I Lecturing About Pedophiles?

Why do I think it’s important?

When you get it wrong, when the press gets it wrong, it damages prevention efforts. 

Every person who is attracted to children, whether they have offended or not, knows how society feels about them. 

Most carry an immense amount of toxic shame. This shame keeps them from coming forward to seek help from trained professionals. Sadly, there are treatment professionals who also engage in this stigma. 

We fail to protect children every time a Minor Attracted Person feels they can’t seek treatment. 

We need to do a better job protecting children as a society. Therefore, treatment needs to be accessible for those who have not offended.

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Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

• How to do Primary Prevention and More
• Help for Minor Attraction
• Research: CSAM on the Dark Web
• You Are Not a Monster: Review of a Long Dark Shadow
• Search: Primary Prevention on Dr. Jen’s Recovery Readings

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Primary Prevention vs. Secondary Prevention of Pedophilia

The United States does a good job of secondary prevention. 

Once we know you have offended and found guilty, you are mandated to treatment to prevent another offense. We try really hard to make sure you don’t offend AGAIN.  We focus on decreasing recidivism, but it misses the mark.

I would much prefer to live in a world where there are no more first victims, not just no more subsequent victims. 

Pedophilia ≠ Child Molestation

Pedophilia is an attraction.

Child molestation is a behavior. 

They are not synonymous.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Preparing a sentencing report for a minor attracted person? Get the data you need, quickly, with Mitigation Aide.

• Characteristics of Male Internet Only Child Pornography Offenders
• Comparing Child Pornography Offenders to Child Contact Offenders: What’s the Difference?
• Updated Review of Online Child Pornography Offender Research

The post Pedophilia is Not a Behavior first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

I am writing to you today from the annual conference of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA). 

Each year, in addition to traditional talks, there are poster presentations. Today, Marion Desfachelles, a Ph.D. student at the University of Montreal, presented a poster on her research on girls and sexting.

Background on Canadian Laws

Canada’s laws regarding teenage sexting are different from the US.

In Canada, sexting is divided into two categories, Primary and Secondary. 

1. Primary sexting is defined as sending or receiving sexually explicit content in a private context.
2. Secondary sexting is defined as distributing the image or video to the public.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled this year that to establish an intimate photo exception to the juvenile pornography laws. This exception allows “two youths, who engage in lawful sexual activity, to consensually record their own lawful sexual activity as long as that recording is made or possessed for their personal use.”

In the US, two minors in this situation would face criminal penalties.

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?

Stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

Desfachelles’ Research

As most of the research on secondary sexting is focused on boys, Ms. Desfachelles wanted to look at how girls engage in primary or secondary sexting. To do this, she looked at the arrest records of 27 girls who were arrested or suspected to be involved in cases of juvenile pornography.

What did the study find? 

Girls are sometimes the primary sexter and the secondary victim, meaning a girl may have taken an image for a partner but it was then distributed outside the context of that relationship. Girls also distributed sexual imagery to others. 

An interesting finding was that the girls did acknowledge that sending these images would be hurtful to the victims, but the girls thought that the victims of the secondary sexting were responsible for the situation.

The study found three main motivations for secondary sexting:

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Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

• How to do Primary Prevention and More
• Help for Minor Attraction
• Research: CSAM on the Dark Web
• You Are Not a Monster: Review of a Long Dark Shadow
• Search: Primary Prevention on Dr. Jen’s Recovery Readings

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• The most common motivation was that of revenge or hurt.
• The other two motivations seen were goodwill and fun, meaning peer pressure. 

Boys continue to be most frequently the originators of the secondary sexting, but girls sometimes start the process and definitely participate in the secondary sexting.

We know that there is significant emotional damage to the victim of secondary sexting. 

Prevention campaigns often focus on not sexting at all. 

The author suggests that, as sexting is becoming a more normative behavior for teens, the prevention efforts be moved to focus on prevention of secondary sexting.

What can you do as a parent?

Help teens understand that they should keep something that was sent in the context of a relationship private. 

Teach teens about consent and that consent also applies to distribution of images sent with the expectation of privacy.

As always, parents should be talking to their children about sexting. 

We also need to expand our discussions about how, if their child does engage in sexting, they can do so in a safe and respectful manner and to understand the risks involved in sending an explicit image to another person.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

For an in-depth guide on talking to your adolescents about cybersex and pornography, check out Dr. Jen’s book. Amazon | BookBaby

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

The post Girls and Sexting first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

In the past few weeks in the Philadelphia area, where I have my primary therapy practice, there have been a number of arrests related to the hook up application (“app”), Grindr.  On May 1, 2014 a young man was found murdered after meeting someone with whom he connected on the Grindr app.  The person he was meeting for the hook up is a suspect.  Even today, in the news, a man was arrested in Seattle for beating another man he met on Grindr.  The most eye catching story from the Philadelphia area is that of the arrest of a Delaware Deputy Attorney General who is being charged with four counts of fourth degree rape, based on sexual encounters he had with a teenage boy he met on the Grindr app.

My purpose in relaying this news is not to be sensational but to use these extremely unfortunate incidents as a teaching moment.  Grindr is technically an app that is for those over the age of 18, but they do not monitor the ages of those people using the app.  We know that there are a number of underage boys using this app.  Given this use, parents need to know about the app and if their child is using it.

What is Grindr?  Grindr is a mobile app that was introduced in 2009.  It is now the largest and most popular all-male social network app that is location based.  The company website (www.grindr.com) states that there are over 4 million people using the app in 192 countries around the world. What the website does not explicitly say is that this is mostly used as a hook up app.  The site allows you to find people who are open to and looking for consensual hook ups for sex.  From a sex positive perspective, it allows gay men to find other gay men who are interested in the same thing. This can be very helpful for someone who is shy or perhaps in a remote area where it is not socially acceptable to be openly gay.

As with anything, when there are positive aspects, there are also negative aspects.  The sites policy does state that there is an age restriction, which is 18 or 21 depending on country.  By accepting the terms of service, you are stating that you meet these restrictions.  However, it is not monitored.  Therefore, like so many other apps, with a click of a button, a 15 year old can be on the app interacting with adults who are looking for sexual contact.  Whether the adults on the site ever find out that the minor is actually a minor is unknown.

From a prevention standpoint, there is a lot to learn from these recent incidents involving the app Grindr.  The first main point is that anytime we are using social media, meeting people or giving out our personal information there is some level of risk involved.  We never know what the other person’s issues are or what they are going to do with that information.  I do not ascribe to fear mongering, so this is not meant to be shocking, rather realistic. Though most meet ups from these types of sites end without any violence and are between two consenting adults, it is not always so.  If an adult is going to engage in anonymous hook ups, they need to take safety precautions.  This is often difficult as these behaviors are frequently done in secret so others do not know where they are going or who they are meeting.

When it comes to minors and prevention, a grander lesson can be learned.  In doing some research on this topic, I came across a forum thread about using Grindr as a minor. The underage young man knew he was not supposed to be on the site and wanted to know what happened if he got caught by the app maker.  The replies that followed implied that the forum members were well aware that those under 18 were not supposed to use the application  (to do what?  Be on the app?  Be contacting people?, be specific) and if they did, they were going to meet up with adults.  There was an implicit acceptance of this fact without an apparent understanding of what that meant for the teen.  The one response who did mention legal issues, stated that the adult would get arrested, so it was not an issue to be underage and on the app. Of course, this is one forum column about the issue and not necessarily the main stream thought.

(Screen shot of the forum postings taken May 14, 2014)

As a parent of a minor, you need to know what your children are doing online.  If you see this app, or one that is similar (tindr, etc), you need to address the issue with your child.  Be aware of what the apps are and how they are used.  These are good communication moments to discuss what is healthy dating and sexuality.  The forum member who suggested that it was no big deal to have sex with an adult does not understand the psychological implications as well as what the impact of a long drawn out legal case is on a family.

The post Tech Savvy Parenting: Prevention Lessons from Recent Grindr Arrests first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.