MAP Support Chat: a peer-support network for adolescent MAPs

Many people ask themselves how someone could possibly sexually abuse a child. At Prostasia Foundation, we are committed to researching that question as it pertains to prevention. In MAP Support Chat, a livechat group for people age 13 and up who have a sexual attraction to minors, the aim is to get ahead of abuse by providing peer support and resources to people who may be at-risk. Prostasia Foundation has partnered with MAP Support Chat to provide technical, institutional and financial support to this endeavor.

Jeremy Malcolm, Executive Director of Prostasia Foundation, will talk about the history of censorship that has dogged MAP Support Chat, the organization’s decision to join as a facilitating partner, some of the technical and legal safeguards that have had to be adopted to enable this, and the difficulties that have been experienced in public outreach and partnerships in supporting a chat server on such a controversial topic.

An administrator of MAP Support Chat will talk about what providing peer support to minor attracted people looks like, what their needs are, and connecting that to the needs around prevention as they relate to helping minor attracted people. They will talk about the culture of MAP Support Chat and the MAP community and the challenges and benefits to reaching out specifically to minor attracted people with the end goal of preventing sexual violence.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this webinar, you will be able to…

1. Explore the culture of fear and paranoia in the MAP community and the reasons for it
2. Identify ways of reaching minor attracted people without triggering that fear
3. Identify how reaching out to minor attracted people is related to preventing child sexual abuse