child sexual abuse prevention - Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings

Child Sex Trafficking: How do People Become Victims?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Thankfully, in light of recent high-profile cases, the world is taking Child Sex Trafficking more seriously. Therefore, with this increased awareness, I’d like to share some data about what we know about how traffickers find their victims. This knowledge will, hopefully, help with education and prevention at all levels.

Previous research has identified several types of traffickers, based on how they recruit their victims. These have been categorized in differing ways.

Some studies divide the types of traffickers into those who use an aggressive/antisocial means to recruit victims versus a charismatic/manipulative means. Other researchers put traffickers into categories like:

Romantic boyfriend
Gang member
Relatives
Those who specifically prey on children with intellectual disabilities

Child Sex Trafficking: Types of Traffickers

Boyfriend/Girlfriend Recruitment

These traffickers present themselves as caring and compassionate friends.

They often offer to help the victim escape an abusive situation or home; they exploit these vulnerabilities of the victim. These traffickers might be someone posing as a boyfriend or the actual romantic partner of the victim.

Peer-to-Peer Recruitment

Some victims of sex trafficking are recruited by other victims of sex trafficking.

This may seem very counter intuitive. The research suggests that peer sex trafficking is often done unwillingly under actual or threatened abuse. Alternatively, this is sometimes seen as a survival strategy where a victim recruits another victim thinking, “Better them than me.”

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Gang/Criminal Recruitment

Many victims of sex trafficking are aggressively recruited by gang members.

Often these victims are young women who have a drug habit that is exploited or are convinced to enter prostitution to help the gang by being love bombed by the trafficker.

Family Trafficking

Both mothers and fathers have been known to traffic their children for various reasons.

Family trafficking can also involve other family members. Research has shown that mothers with drug addictions are most often seen in this category.

By identifying the different tactics used by various types of traffickers, public education and youth education can happen to try to prevent trafficking from the inception, before a child becomes a victim.

Child Sex Trafficking: Sub-Types of Perpetrator

A study published in 2023 in the scientific journal, Victims & Offenders, sought to further the research on child sex trafficking by describing recruitment strategies used by perpetrators.

The goal of this study is to inform prevention education and interventions.

The study reviewed 78 Child Protective Investigation case files in the state of Florida.

The study found 7 distinct subtypes of perpetrator of Child Sex Trafficking:

Peer/Acquaintance
Organized Crime
Romantic Coercive Conman
“Mate” crime predator
Family Abuser
Opportunistic Trafficker
Cybertrafficker

Peer/Acquaintance Trafficker

Maybe a neighbor, classmate, friend, etc. Uses peer recruitment, often via social media to find youth in their geographic area. The child is then groomed by being offered drugs, gifts or basic needs such as food or shelter. Grooming also includes building a friendship and normalizing commercial sexual exploitation.

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

Organized Crime Child Sex Trafficking

Uses peer to peer recruitment. Finds youth in areas known for drugs and illegal activities. Child is groomed by being offered drugs and providing basic needs. Uses violence and intimidation when the child ends up paying for the “gifts” with sex.

Family Abuser

This person exploits their own young family members for either profit or to support a drug habit. The victim often lives with the abuser.

Romantic Coercive Conman

This trafficker is often seen as a boyfriend by the victim. They find victims by chatting online with girls on social media and dating apps. They will also go to places where girls frequent in person. The victims are groomed using romance and gift giving. They are also groomed with charm and often alcohol and drugs. The victim is then isolated from friends and family.

Mate Crime Predator

This trafficker preys upon the most vulnerable youth they can find. These are often youth with intellectual disabilities, mental health issues or physical disabilities. The victims are groomed with friendship. Traffickers often find these victims in places where you find run away children or using peer to peer recruitment via foster care or social media. Victims are groomed with basic needs or drugs and alcohol. This type of trafficker often also uses physically abusive tactics.

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

Opportunistic Child Sex Trafficking

These traffickers often meet youth at places like truck stops or other places run away youth are to be found. They can then take advantage of the child’s specific vulnerability and groom them with offers of food, shelter, transportation and drugs or alcohol.

Cybertrafficker

This trafficker only interacts with victims online. The victims are found mostly on social media and dating apps. The trafficker befriends them and often promises money in exchange for sexual images and videos. They often then blackmail victims by threatening to disseminate the sexual images of the child.

Child Sex Trafficking Prevention

For prevention efforts to be successful, they need to be in place at all levels of the behavior.

By identifying the different tactics used by various types of traffickers, public education and youth education can happen to try to prevent trafficking from the inception, before a child becomes a victim.

Reference

Reid, J., Bilali, K., Fox, B. & Diaz, J. (2023). Toward a Typology of Child Sex Traffickers: Using Crime Script Analysis to Inform Prevention, Victims & Offenders., 18:3, 423-446. DOI: 10/1080/15564886.2022.2149648.

Are you exploring your trauma? Do you feel your childhood experiences were detrimental to your current mental or physical health? Utilize this free, validated, self-report questionnaire to find out.

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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.

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What do we Know About Educators who Commit Sexual Abuse?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Despite the age of this study, published in 2014, it provides valuable insight into current issues about sexual abuse by educators.

Teachers, Students, and Sexual Abuse

While these cases do not come across my desk terribly often, they do still occur.

In Pennsylvania, the age of consent is 16. However, if the abuse case involves a 16- or 17-year-old victim and a perpetrator who is in a position of trust, i.e., a teacher, the teenager cannot give consent and the cases are criminally charged.

Here in PA, the cases that get the most media attention are where a female teacher abuses a student, regardless of the gender of the victim.

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.

Sexual Abuse by Educators: A Study

The authors sought to address three specific questions that were all related to the gender of the educator who offended. Were there gender differences based on:

The age of the victim?
The grade the abuser taught?
How the offenses came to light?

Study Results

Age of the victims:

Male teachers who offended had victims that were significantly younger (12 & under)
Female teachers most often offended against students 13 and older

There were no differences between the genders in terms of the grade in school they taught.

I found an interesting revelation to be how the sexual abuse came to light:

When the person who engaged in the offending behavior was a man, the abuse was disclosed more often by the victim themselves, discovered by someone in the administration or through a police sting.
When the person who was the abuser was female, the abuse came to light more often through a report by another student or by a parent or guardian.

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Sexual Abuse Study Takeaways

These findings appear to support some of the stigma related to being the victim of sexual abuse perpetrated by a woman.

Often these victims are not believed when they do report the abuse, or they do not perceive the sexual interactions to be abusive.

This study was not designed to provide any causal explanations. Therefore, they do not attempt to make assertions as to why male educators abuse younger victims more than female educators. This would be a very interesting topic of study.

Ten Years Later

Ten years out from the publication of this study, it’s disappointing to realize that this abuse continues. In some cases, it may seem as though it has increased.

My opinion is that the behavior, teachers sexually abusing their students, has likely not increased.

With increased education and mandatory reporting laws, as well as the positive effects of things like the #metoo movement, it is more likely that these cases are simply being reported more often, holding those who engage in the abuse to account.

Inappropriate sexual behavior by educators should always be reported.

School needs to be a place of safety for children and educators need to be trustworthy custodians of our children’s education.

Reference: Ratliff, L. & Watson, J. (2014). A Descriptive Analysis of Public School Educators Arrested for Sex Offenses. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 23:2, 217-228.

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.

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.

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CSAM on the Dark Web

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 27 May 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Those of us in the field know that access to CSAM on the dark web is really only a few clicks away. Despite what many people think, it is pretty easy to access. Many of our CSAM clients were accessing these materials on TOR sites. Despite its frequent use, we really don’t know much about the details of CSAM availability and users on TOR sites.

A Study on CSAM on the Dark Web

An article just published in Scientific Reports, a Nature publication, looked at CSAM materials on TOR sites from both a computer science perspective and a public health perspective.

It is an enlightening study.

CSAM on the Dark Web: What is TOR?

For the unaware, TOR stands for The Onion Router.

It is an communication protocol that provides many layers of obfuscation for its users.

It does this by concealing the origin of the communications, resisting browser fingerprinting and circumventing traffic.

These tools allow for anonymous online hosting. On TOR sites, illegal content proliferates, whether that be CSAM sharing, drug trafficking, or other crimes.

CSAM on the Dark Web Study: The Questions

The authors of this study analyzed content on TOR sites to address the following questions:

How much CSAM is distributed through the TOR network?
What are users seeking and searching for?

They also surveyed the CSAM users to find out information about them.

Finally, they looked at how interventions based on searches might reduce child abuse.

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

Statistical Results

The authors used a web crawler from 2018-2023 and found that 1/5^th of all TOR sites share CSAM.
CSAM can also be found on 21 of the 26 top TOR search engines, with four of these search engines actually advertising CSAM.
11.1% of users specifically searched for CSAM using the phrase “child porn” to get there.
When they surveyed the CSAM viewers, 61.6% said they have tried to stop watching it and 48.1% said they went to stop viewing CSAM.
Those CSAM users who were specifically searching for child content were more often searching for content of girls than boys.
More than half of the CSAM explicit searchers are looking for content in the age range of 12 to 16 year olds.

The authors went as far as to recommend that the psychiatric diagnoses of pedophilia and hebephilia be altered to sexual attraction to children under 11 (paedophilic type), attraction to children 11 to 14 (hebephilic) or both.

Who are Tor CSAM users?

The data showed that most of the CSAM users were initially exposed to CSAM when they were children and that more than half of these exposures were accidental.

Based on self report, almost 70% reported that they preferred content of girls to boys.
A very small percentage of individuals preferred content depicting images of infants or toddlers.

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

What are possible online interventions for users of CSAM on the Dark Web?

The study reported that there are three prominent TOR search engines that provide links to self help programs for people who are concerned about their searching of CSAM. A good number of the CSAM viewers said they want to stop viewing the material and most of them have tried to stop at least once.

If so many people want help, why don’t they get help?

Many of the survey respondents stated that they were afraid to get help. Previous research has cited barriers to seeking help including fear of being reported, fear of being stigmatized, shame, and lack of understanding by professionals.

Since people who are using CSAM on TOR seem to want help, it is an area that is ripe for effective intervention. It opens up the question of whether or not more dark web recruitment for anonymous interventions is possible.

Since three websites provide links to self-help programs, why are more not doing so?

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My Takeaways from the Study on CSAM on the Dark Web

I really liked this study for two main reasons:

It was a combination of computer science and psychology

I think we know more about the psychology of CSAM users than how and where they get it.

It is often stated in court that someone who views CSAM must really be working hard to find it and view it. Studies like this one show us that it is not very hard to come across the content and more than half of the people who view it first accessed CSAM accidentally.

It Openly Discusses Interventions

It digs into how we can use these TOR sites to let people know there is help available. If they want to stop their behavior, they need to know there are therapists who can help them in a knowledgeable and non-shaming fashion.

I wonder, now, what we can do as a practice to be more active in prevention in this medium.

Reference: Nurmi, J., Paju, A., Brumley, B.B., Insoll, T., Ovaska, A.K., Soloveva, V., Vaaranen-Valkonen, N., Aaltonen, M. & Arroyo, D. (2024). Investigating child sexual abuse material availability, searches, and users on the anonymous Tor network for a public health intervention strategy. Scientific Reports, 14:7849.

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 CSAM on the Dark Web first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

What Affect do Sex Dolls Have on Human Sexuality?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0000

If you have spent any time on this blog, you might be thinking another sex doll post? What is her obsession with sex dolls?

I’ve been thinking about this while formulating a response to a reader’s comment on an older sex dolls post.

I find the topic interesting because people have very strong opinions about it based on feelings.

There are just not enough facts or data out there for anyone to form what we might call an “informed opinion.” So, that’s why I love reading and writing about research articles on sex dolls.

Sex Dolls in the Journal of Sex Research

Here’s a recap of a newer article published last year in the Journal of Sex Research.

The authors, through an online survey, sought to add some knowledge to the debate about sex doll usage. Particularly, to address sex dolls used by people who are sexually attracted to prepubescent or pubescent children.

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.

Wait, What’s the Debate About Sex Dolls?

The core concerns regarding the use of sex dolls that people tend to bring up:

Using sex dolls increases problematic sexuality. Many feel the users may transfer the type of sexuality they engage in with a doll to a human.
Individuals who use sex dolls will become increasingly isolated from others.
People who use sex dolls will lose intimacy and empathy in their interpersonal relationships.

Specifically, relating to the use of child sex dolls, people fear that if a person who is sexually attracted to children uses a childlike sex doll, it will increase their desire or propensity to then engage in sexual activity with a live child.

Back to the Sex Doll Study

The authors “sought to explore the potential influence of (sex) doll use on common (i.e., sex with humans, masturbation, and porn use) as well as problematic or (potentially) illegal sexual behaviors (compulsive sexual behavior, illegal and dangerous sexual fantasies as well as visiting sex workers).

The study is the first to look at potential changes in sexual behavior associated with sex doll use.

The study asked 224 individuals who were sex doll users:

About the features of their dolls (gender, size, price, etc.)
About the changes they observed in their own sexual behavior
Demographic questions
Open ended questions

Interested in more information about sex dolls and their owners? Here’s all of our posts about them:

Results of the Study

The authors classified sex doll users as those who used the doll basically as a sex toy or those who used the doll as an artificial companion (AC).

The average age of the doll users was 31.

Those who used the doll as an AC were less likely to be in a relationship than those who used it as a sex toy.

What changes did they see in their behaviors?

All of the users reported an observable decrease in common and dangerous behaviors since they started using the dolls.

Specifically relating to doll owners who are sexually attracted to children, those individuals self-reported a strong significantly greater decrease in compulsive sexual behavior when compared to their adult attracted peers.

They also stated that they used their dolls as an alternative sexual outlet as they could not live out their sexual interest with humans.

Individuals with sexual interest in prepubescent or pubescent children did report:

They used the dolls to act out illegal fantasies with the dolls
They lost interest in sexual interactions with children due to their owning and using a childlike sex doll

The authors note the results of their study go against the idea that using sex dolls will reinforce problematic sexual behavior of any kind. Their results showed the opposite.

Sex doll ownership and use decreased self-reported problematic sexual behavior.

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

Limitations of the Sex Doll Study

Before we definitively state the use of sex dolls is a good thing or that it does not, in fact, lead to problematic sexual behavior, we have to talk about the limitations of this research study.

The first limitation is that it is a survey.

There is always the question of whether or not the people who choose to respond to a research survey are in any way different from those that do not choose to participate, and this could decrease the generalizability of the results.

The second big limitation is the questions about reduction in problematic (including illegal) sexual behavior were self-reported.

This means we have no way of knowing if the study participants were telling the truth. We also don’t know if the decrease they reported is real or just their perception. Again, this may limit the validity and generalizability of the research.

Nonetheless, this study is a big step in moving forward and answering the questions of what affect owning and using a sex doll has on a person’s sexual behavior.

Reference: Desbuleux, J. C. & Fuss, J. (2023). The Self-Reported Sexual Real-World Consequences of Sex Doll Use. The Journal of Sex Research, DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2023.2199727.

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.

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 What Affect do Sex Dolls Have on Human Sexuality? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

How to Protect Your Child from Sextortion

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 15:44:20 +0000

Yesterday, the FBI released a statement warning about the dangers and rising rates of online extortion of children. This story has blown up all over the national news. While I am happy to see this issue get the attention it deserves, I feel as though the FBI is a little late in warning about sextortion.

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

In 2016, I wrote the now outdated book, The New Age of Sex Education: How to talk to your teen about cybersex and pornography in the digital age. Children being sextorted was an issue then, though not as common as now.

How does this Happen?

Children (and adults for that matter) are online all the time.

This may be social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok. They are posting content, talking to people, and generally doing what kids do. While these apps can be a great source of connection and information, there is always a dark side.

If someone’s account is not set to private, anyone can contact you. The individuals that are going to groom, manipulate or extort someone will follow, comment or direct message (DM).

The relationship grows. It often moves to a chat app like Kik and where the victim will send pictures of themselves. These can be anything from simply sexy to overtly sexual images or videos.

Not everyone who does this is looking to extort the child. Many individuals who are engaging in this behavior are sexually offending and with no financial motivation.

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.

The Demand

If the motivation of the individual is extortion, very quickly after receiving a video or image, there is an extortion demand. They ask for money; we often see the number $7500 being asked of our clients.

If the money is not paid, the threat is that the extorter will then post and share the sexual images to the child’s social media accounts, send to parents, family members, friends, etc.

We have had many adult clients who have had this happen and are so ashamed that they simply pay the money and hope it goes away.

If they do not pay the money, the threats can escalate and be very harassed.

Ultimately, sometimes the person’s images end up being posted.

When the victim of extortion is a minor, the shame and embarrassment often induce them to stay silent. Unlike adult victims who may have access to money, most minor victims do not which leaves them more vulnerable.

The mental health impacts of this victimization are very serious, and the FBI reported that many of the victims have turned to suicide.

Learn why it’s important for everyone, especially teens, to be able to control their online experiences. Dick Pic Culture: How do Teenage Girls Navigate it?

What can a parent do to prevent sextortion?

The first thing to do is to talk to your child about the internet, privacy and who they are talking to online.
- Online communication are part of their cultural norm. We are not going to stop it, so children need to be informed about risk.
Parents need to know what their children are doing online and on their phone.
- Know what apps they are using.
- Know whether they have social media accounts.
- Be aware of hidden social media accounts that kids often make and keep from their parents.
Parents need to be open, non-shaming and available to talk about sex, sex education and sexuality with their children.
- Do not assume that they are too young to learn about digital sexuality.
- Do not assume that school will take care of this education.
- Many parents are uncomfortable talking about sex in general and even more so with their children. Get educated, acknowledge that the talks are awkward and have them with your children anyway. And have them often. This creates an environment where your child will feel more comfortable coming to you if there is an issue.

If you or your child are the victim of this type of crime, please contact your local police department or the FBI.

If you are seeking counseling for issues related to this type of victimization, please contact our office at www.sexualaddictiontreatmentservices.com or 610-844-7180.

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.

The post How to Protect Your Child from Sextortion first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Research: CSAM on the Dark Web

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:01:56 +0000

Protect Children’s ReDirection Project about CSAM on the Dark Web

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.

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:

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.
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.
Almost half of the respondents (45%) view CSAM materials of girls aged 4 to 13 years old.
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.
Nearly half of the survey respondents have watched actual child abuse on a livestream feed.
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.

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

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.

The Autism Spectrum, Sexuality & The Law

Eli Irving — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 12:00:00 +0000

The Autism Spectrum, Sexuality & the Law is a great introduction to how individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are affected by sexuality exploration, sexual offenses and the ramifications of therapists practicing outside of their scope.

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

In addition, the need for proper guidance and education for the use of pornography. Nick Dubin is the individual that had the unfortunate experience with misguided exploration of his sexuality. Throughout the book, he details his struggles with ASD and how he maneuvered throughout life with unasked questioned about himself, ASD and his sexuality.

Since the inception of his awareness regarding his sexuality, he never knew how to articulate it until he was an adult. Even though from a developmental standpoint, he was younger.

One concept to understand is fixation. When it comes to fixation, individuals with ASD become hypervigilant or obsessed with a subject they are interested in.

The part that lead him to his demise was when he was seeing two therapists. One that specialized in ASD and another was assisting him with sexuality exploration.

Nick was just getting his feet wet with exploring whether he was a homosexual or not.

The therapist that didn’t specialize with ASD, told Nick to look into pornography.

This was the slope. We do not know what was told to Nick during the session(s) but as Nick was diving into pornography, he started to look at pornography online then Nick ended up looking at child pornography. This lead to his arrest.

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.

My Viewpoint on The Autism Spectrum, Sexuality & the Law

From my experience, working with individuals on the spectrum that have committed sexual offenses. One concept to understand is fixation. When it comes to fixation, individuals with ASD become hypervigilant or obsessed with a subject they are interested in.

For example, if Nick was interested in dinosaurs, he would constantly research, watch movies and documentaries about dinosaurs for hours. Nick became fixated on the pornography that he was looking at and fell down the rabbit hole of random site clicking. This is a recipe for disaster.

With random site clicking, an individual could be clicking on unpopular or fringe sites without realizing it, which have a risk of displaying unregulated (not even sure if regulated sites are really regulated) content that could be considered child sexual abuse media.

After Nick committed these crimes, he proceeded with therapy and other legal stipulations.

He has written this book which is very insightful that describes not only life with ASD but also what happens when some people with ASD encounter pornography without understanding what it really is and how to utilize pornography safely.

I have recommended this book to the parents of my clients with ASD that have committed sexual offenses or problematic sexual behaviors.

Who is this book for?

This is a book that should be read to educate lawyers, mental health professionals and other individuals that want to further understand ASD. This book can also be used to exemplify how important psychosexual education is for everyone.

This issue shows that education is needed regarding the use of pornography.

We all know that pornography is out there, but we also know that child sexual abuse media is also and seeps it’s way through some of the popular and unpopular search engines. The more we could inform people on healthy portrayal of sexuality in pornography and general use of pornography, hopefully this could decrease these misguided usages of pornography and unintended viewing of child abuse media.

Originally appeared on TherapyInLit&Films on April 19, 2022

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.

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

The post The Autism Spectrum, Sexuality & The Law first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

You Are Not a Monster: Review of A Long Dark Shadow

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 13:56:45 +0000

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.

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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.

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.

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

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.

The Truth About Halloween and Sex Offenders

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 21:54:38 +0000

Halloween is at the end of this week. There are a lot of assumptions made about Halloween and Sex Offenders. Let’s take a look at the realities.

Therapists who work with sex offenders know this is the time of year probation officers ask us if we have made sure all of our clients have a plan for Halloween and know they are not to participate in the holiday.

Luckily, the area where our practice is located does not ask for more than our clients to avoid participation.

In other parts of the country, things are much different.

Halloween and Sex Offenders in the News

The Patch, a national news source, posted multiple articles providing detailed maps showing the homes of registered sex offenders for many areas.

Indiana

A town in Indiana performed a Halloween crackdown sweep of Sex offenders who failed to register.

Ohio

A news source in Ohio posted an article on how to keep your children safe from sex offenders on Halloween.

Georgia

In Georgia, the Butts County Sheriff’s Office places warning signs in front of the homes of anyone on the sex offender registry for Halloween. Several people on the registry sued the Sheriff’s office and recently lost the lawsuit. The court ruled that this practice did not violate their rights.

In some states, registered offenders still on probation or parole are provided a list of requirements which may include:

Being home after a certain time
Not answering the door to children
Not handing out candy
Having no outside lights on
Having a sign on their door stating specifically they’re not giving out candy

As professionals, our time is valuable. Dr. Weeks created the Mitigation Aide Research Archive because there isn’t enough focused, data-backed research available in easily digestible formats.

Halloween and Sex Offenders by the Data

We can all agree that sex crimes against children are profoundly serious and something everyone should work to prevent.

The question arises whether Halloween is a higher risk day than any other day of the year. To answer this question, Chaffin et al. (2009) conducted a study that analyzed child sex crime rates on Halloween.

The authors analyzed child sex crime victims from 1997 to 2005. The data came from up to 30 states.

They looked at a span of days that included Halloween as some locations have trick or treat events before or after the actual date of Halloween.

There was a total of 67,307 abuse reports during the Halloween time frame over the 8-year period.

Results of the Study

The results of the analysis indicated that for the children who were abused on Halloween, 73% were female and 27% male.

They were abused primarily by male offenders (94%) who had an average age of 24 years old.

The main result of this study was that the distribution of sexual offenses against children during the Halloween time period did NOT significantly differ from all other days of the year.

Halloween and sex offenders are not a recipe for increased chances of abuse.

The CDC has reported that children are four times more likely to be killed by a pedestrian/motor vehicle accident on Halloween than any other day of the year.

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Looking Beyond Sexual Offenses

The authors of this study also looked at other crimes committed during the Halloween time period.

The most common types of crime during Halloween are theft, destruction of property and assault.

Vandalism and destruction of property accounted for a significantly greater proportion of the crime around the Halloween time period.

Sex crimes accounted for a little more than 1% of all Halloween crime and sex crimes against children accounted for less than .2% of Halloween crime incidents.

Halloween and Sex Offenders: The Realities

We know that the majority of the sexual offenses committed against children are by someone the child knows. We see the results of this study show no increased risk of criminality. Therefore, we can come to the conclusion that scarce resources could be better spent policing other crimes on Halloween such as vandalism.

Extra policing of sexual offenders on the registry during Halloween might make the public feel better or feel that their children are safer. However, it appears that these efforts are more publicity than efficacy in reality.

Reference: Chaffin, M., Levenson, J., Letourneau, E. & Stern, P. (2009). How safe are trick or treaters? An analysis of child sex crime rates on Halloween. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. (21) 3, 363-374.

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.

The post The Truth About Halloween and Sex Offenders first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Do Minor Attracted Persons Make Your Skin Crawl?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 13:20:01 +0000

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.