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About

Introducing a new kind of child protection organization

Protecting children from sexual abuse is a cause that everyone can unite behind. Often, however, the measures we take to combat child sexual abuse (CSA) are less effective than they should be, because they are driven by emotion rather than evidence. In striving to protect children from abuse, we may end up harming them and others.

Prostasia Foundation addresses this problem by…

  • helping to fund sound scientific research on CSA prevention.
  • engaging with diverse stakeholders whose voices are not normally heard.
  • addressing the human rights impacts of child protection laws and policies.
  • communicating the results of our research and engagement to policymakers, platforms, and the public.

This uniquely balanced, rights-respecting and evidence-based approach to CSA prevention allows us not only to protect children from abuse, but also to reduce the separate harms caused to children and others by our society’s predominantly reactive child protection agenda.

If you would like to support our work, you learn how here.

There is no other organization like Prostasia Foundation.

Our Values


By combining these three values with a rigorously evidence-based approach and a commitment to broad and inclusive community consultation, Prostasia has a unique position on issues such as these:

Internet freedom

Internet freedom

We support the removal of child sexual abuse imagery from the Internet, but don't believe this requires the censorship of lawful speech or redistributing liability for speech onto neutral Internet platforms.

Sex worker rights

Sex worker rights

We are strongly opposed to minors engaging in any kind of sex work. But measures that would target all sex workers in the name of protecting those who are underage are disproportionate and infringe the rights of adult sex workers.

Encryption and safety

Encryption and safety

As the only child protection organization that is a member of the Global Encryption Coalition, we recognize how strong encryption keeps children safe. Any technology can be abused, but banning this one isn't an option.

Helping people to avoid offending

Helping people to avoid offending

Research can inform us about how best to work with those who have a higher risk of offending, or whom the public perceives as doing so, to help keep children safe—while upholding the due process rights that protect us all.

Kink awareness

Kink awareness

The kink community is also often misunderstood by other child protection groups. We believe that adults have a right to participate in consensual sexual behaviors, and that researchers could learn from this community about practices that may reduce child sexual abuse.

Sexting law reform

Sexting law reform

The criminalization of sexting can cause more harm to teens than the images themselves. We support measures that restrict the dissemination of sexting images and criminalize their possession by adults, but oppose the criminalization of their subjects.

Our Approach

The majority of sexual offences aren’t the result of child sex trafficking, nor are they committed by known sex offenders. Yet these are the targets of most child protection laws and policies, which explains why they are so ineffective.

In contrast, Prostasia’s priority is on using law, technology, and social intervention to prevent CSA before it happens, rather than merely tracking down and punishing those who have already offended—at which point our society has already failed the victim. We do this through four actions:

Current campaigns

Support the Jenna Quinn law

The Jenna Quinn Law promotes community based education and training for teachers, caregivers,...

Protect LGBTQ youth

The bill H.R. 1379 Protecting LGBTQ Youth Act would help to prevent and treat child abuse in...

To the left of a glowing blue lock against a dark blue background, white text reads say no to mass surveillance, say no to privacy violations, say no to breaking encryption, say no to limiting healthcare, say no to device scanning, say no to the earn it act.

Stop EARN IT

The EARN IT Act is a trojan horse bill that uses the language of child protection as cover for...