One of Prostasia Foundation’s most unique prevention interventions is our support for the peer support forum, MAP Support Club (MSC). The objective of our involvement with MSC is to lower the risk factors for child sexual offending by adolescents and adults who are sexually attracted to minors (MAPs). Our strategy for doing this is by addressing the isolation of this community, that exists due to the shame and stigma that is associated with their condition. Isolation is a risk factor for child sexual abuse, because it prevents people from receiving the support that they may need to remain non-offending. Helplines like the one operated by Stop It Now are one way that help-seeking individuals can break their isolation.

Online peer support can also be a good way to reduce isolation, especially for those who may be hesitant to use a phone service. However, existing peer support options face significant shortcomings. When reaching out for peer support on social media platforms such as Twitter, help-seekers encounter bullying and violent threats that can worsen, rather than improve, their mental wellness. When help-seekers turn instead to the “dark web” of the Tor network, they encounter offenders and “pro-contact” non-offenders, who promote cognitive distortions that support sexual offending against children, and who distribute images of child sexual abuse. Peer support forums hosted on major Internet platforms are also frequently shut down. This is, indeed, exactly what happened to the original MSC when it was hosted on Discord, and that was why Prostasia first became involved.

MSC offers a solution by providing a safe, stable, online space for interactive online peer support, and for referral to trusted professional support options, all with the backing of Prostasia Foundation. Back in August, we announced the first of a number of improvements to the service: our launch of an automated filter to ensure that known child abuse images could not be posted to MSC. This month, we announce a new milestone: a Memorandum of Understanding with Stop It Now, to ensure that one of its trained helpline operators would be available in MSC during a regular timeslot, to provide an independent ear for those may need advice or a referral to other sources of support.

Meagan Ingerman, Prostasia’s Program Director, said, “This is an exciting new step with a new partner, that will enable more people to find the help they may need.” Jenny Coleman, Director of Stop It Now, said, "Meeting people where they are, where they feel safe and comfortable asking for help is critical and we’re thrilled to partner with Prostasia to provide the support and information that will best help someone with their questions and concerns about safe sexual behaviors."

If you would like to help extend this collaboration between Prostasia Foundation and Stop It Now, please donate towards our Giving Tuesday campaign.

During October 2020, Prostasia Foundation conducted a short, eight-question online survey of our supporters, which was intended to gather information about the opinions and backgrounds. The survey link was distributed via our social media accounts and our forum, and resulted in 76 responses.

We called upon responses from our “supporters” (a term that we left undefined), rather than just our members, because we wanted to capture the views of those who identify with some part of our mission but who may not have taken up membership. We also invited respondents to identify in their own words why they supported our work. Their responses fell mostly into two groups. The first of these are people who supported us for our “evidence-based”, “progressive, scientific approach,” which they identified as being “anti-hysteria” and involving “thinking about solutions carefully rather than through moral panic.” One of these respondents said, “I appreciate an organisation taking a reasonable position for a change.”

A second group of people identified themselves as supporters because they are directly affected by what we do; for example, a respondent who said they had “been through the criminal justice system,” another admitting to “problematic” tastes in art and fiction, and others who identified as CSA survivors. One of these said, “I'm a victim of child sexual abuse and believe Prostasia has a true dedication working against it, unlike so many other companies and groups who virtue signal as a form of censorship.” There were also a few respondents who indicated that they did not identify as supporters; one calling us “sanctimonious” and another saying that they were “more of a spectator.”

We also asked respondents to suggest their top priorities for how our society could do more to prevent child sexual abuse. By a large margin, the most popular responses were “Expanding comprehensive sex education and including consent as a topic” (27% of respondents), “Providing free, anonymous support to those with sexual interests in children” (28%), and “Combatting misinformation about how child sexual abuse really happens” (30%). Other write-in suggestions included prison abolition, shelter housing for at-risk kids, supporting “victimless alternatives” for people with thoughts of offending, and the fascinating idea of promoting “Day -1”—the day before a perpetrator offends—as a day for them to reach out for help.

We also asked them for suggestions about what Prostasia Foundation should be doing differently. The most common answer was “nothing”, “don’t know,” or “not much.” The next most frequent suggestions were about expanding our reach; eg. “make more noise,” “being more vocal,” or “do more to breach the mainstream.” A couple of respondents suggested that we distance ourselves from sex scientists who have become controversial within trans political circles; one of them adding, “I know that’s a hard balance to strike right now.” Among the more substantive suggestions received were “Give the idea of PhotoDNA for browsers a second look,” and “combatting physical abuse/neglect.”

The demographic composition of Prostasia Foundation’s supporters skews young and queer. 43% of respondents were aged 18-25, with 70% being 18-35. A full 25% of respondents identified as LGBTQ+, with a further 21% identifying as kinky. 6% were BIPOC, 10% were CSA survivors, and 2% were sex workers. The most popular category of all was “fan or artist”, which is a social group that we have specifically targeted in our advocacy work. On the other hand, only 2% of our supporters are parents, indicating that this is a demographic that we need to target more effectively. Only 5% of respondents identified in none of the categories that we suggested.

We also asked our supporters how they had heard of us, and what social media platforms they used. Most respondents (64%) had encountered us through our Twitter account, with personal referrals being the next most common source (12%). Twitter was also the most popular social media platform used by 50% of respondents, followed by Facebook at 20%. Some people had also encountered us on platforms where we don’t have a social media presence, such as Discord, 4chan, Tumblr, Dreamwidth, Quora, Tinder, and Goodreads.

Finally, we asked respondents why they hadn’t become a donor or member (if they hadn’t). The most common answers were “Can’t afford it” (49%) and “Prefer to remain completely anonymous.”

Some key takeaways from this survey are that Prostasia Foundation is generally perceived by the communities that we serve as doing a good job in advancing their interests. It is also gratifying to see the strong backing from within these communities for interventions based around education and support, rather than censorship or incarceration. However, it is clear that we could do a better job at reaching out to other constituents, such as parents and older adults, who may not yet be convinced of the merits of our approach.

Members are entitled to receive a free copy of the complete results of the survey. If you're a member and would like a copy, let us know! If you're not, you can join from just $5 per month. 

We talk with Jenna Quinn about her namesake Jenna Quinn Law, a primary prevention law to ensure that children, teachers, and parents are taught about how to recognize child sexual abuse, how to intervene to prevent it from happening, and how to report it.

Prostasia has a campaign that allows you to write to your U.S. Representative to support the Jenna Quinn law.

I collect children’s books. I have the most important ones from my childhood and recently I’ve been looking into books for kids about sex ed, consent, bodily autonomy, and inclusivity. There are kids in my life who are learning and sometimes there are parents who are lost. So I read these things in search of good guides and stories for kids. I Said No! - A kid-to-kid guide to keeping private parts private, has useful parts but the whole of the book is not an overall great message. 

Before you get into the kid oriented part of the book, there is a guide for parents and caregivers for how best to use the book. It notes that you should not try to cover the whole book in one sitting and I agree. If I was going to introduce this book to a child, I would cover it in parts, especially since I don’t like all the parts. 

The first part of the book is mostly a guide for kids to understand what the book calls “red flags” and “green flags”. Red flags being behaviors and situations that make you uncomfortable and/or feel dangerous. Green flags are, predictably enough, behaviors and situations that feel safe and comfortable. The book provides examples of both red and green flags as well as sample dialogue to use and what to do in red flag situations. I don’t love every example but the idea is sound and it does seem like a relatively effective way to get the concept across. 

There are useful exercises in the book and pages for writing lists of “safe” adults and drawing pictures to help illustrate understanding. The book uses mostly “kid-friendly” language to the tune of “private parts”. That said, there is also a glossary of “doctor words” to teach your kids proper names for the relevant anatomy. I’m personally a fan of teaching the doctor words but not every parent is ok with that. I’m not inclined to quibble too much with this as long as the concept comes across and I think it does. 

The rest of the book is the story of a young boy, Zack King, who is one of the authors along with his mom, Kimberly King, who ends up in a red flag situation and how he and his mom handle it. This is where I don’t feel great about the book. The incident is one I would handle differently. The incident takes place between two similarly aged children and no touching actually occurs. Another child asks for something inappropriate from Zack and he follows his training and extricates himself from the situation, calls his mom, and is rescued. 

I take no issue whatsoever with adults and children having a plan and safety word (which,in this case, as you may have guessed, is “red flag”), I think it’s great. What I do take issue with is the fact that the book immediately vilifies the other child. There is no room for explaining that some kids experiment and their interest in others is not necessarily or even likely to be malicious. 

I would absolutely come get my child if they used their safety word. I’d rather be safe than sorry. But I would also explain that even though the other child broke the rules, they may not have been taught the same rules and therefore might not understand why their behavior is not ok. Or they may simply not have a frame of reference. It’s also very common for similarly aged children to experiment with each other without either child feeling uncomfortable. 

For me, the book takes a more negative tack than I would for teaching these concepts. I believe sex, sexuality, and sexual health are ongoing conversations that should start early and happen often. The more we understand about consent and bodily autonomy at an early age, the less likely it is for these situations to occur. Private parts are private but kids still need to learn about them and why they are private. 

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