This week Prostasia announced the commencement of a research project on the effects of fantasy sexual outlets on the perpetration of child sexual abuse. Specifically, what is the effect of the availability and use of outlets that depict or represent fictional minors in a sexualized fashion, such as fiction cartoons, dolls, or role play?

We have been raising funds for this research almost since our formation in 2018, when it became apparent that an increasing number of new bills and laws—such as the CREEPER Act, a bill from the 115th Session of Congress that would have banned childlike sex dolls—were based on the untested assumption that fantasy outlets lead people to commit child sexual abuse in real life.

This wasn't what experts were saying however, with several key professionals suggesting that there are also likely to be at least some people for whom fantasy outlets could have the opposite effect, by providing them with a victimless outlet for sexual feelings that would be harmful if acted out in real life.

Ours will be the the first scientific research project to attempt to find out the answer to this question. Is the predominant effect of fantasy sexual outlets likely to be positive, negative, or neutral? Are there any particular safeguards that should accompany their use?

The need for research such as this has been widely acknowledged, including by panelists at the closing session of the 2019 Symposium of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. In 2021 the University of Lincoln is due to publish a study on what it calls "non-photographic abuse imagery," with recommendations for research into its effects.

Yet the sexual stigma about research into this topic has impeded all efforts to have it funded by major donors or governments. Neither have existing child protection organizations expressed any interest in having such research funded, instead supporting the outright criminalization of such outlets.

Regardless of what this research should uncover, its results will have inescapable implications for censorship and sex offense law and policy around the world. Prostasia Foundation expects to release the first outputs from the project during 2021.

An excerpt from Prostasia's upcoming 2020 Annual Report:

It’s hardly necessary to observe that 2020 hasn’t been an easy year. But in a year in which the importance of taking an evidence-based, public health approach has never been clearer, championing this approach in the field of child sexual abuse prevention has enabled Prostasia Foundation to survive and thrive.

The Just Beginnings Collaborative (JBC), a charitable foundation supporting survivor-centered efforts to heal from, prevent, and ultimately end child sexual abuse, partnered with us this year in recognition of the unique value of the peer support platform that we sponsor as a vital intervention for at-risk adolescents and adults during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

But that’s just one of the year’s highlights. During 2020 we also took on our first paid staff member, further diversified our Board and Advisory Council, added a brand new program for child sexual abuse survivors, funded the first phase of a research project on sexual outlets, and continued our successful webinar, newsletter, blog, and campaigning activities. Amidst all the struggles of this moment, 2020 was Prostasia Foundation’s strongest year yet.

We look forward to the year in which we can say that our prevention-focused approach was also broadly embraced by policymakers, platforms, and other nonprofits. Unfortunately, this is not that year. Carceral responses to child sexual abuse (CSA) remain overwhelmingly popular even in the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Moral panic also continues to dominate public discourse on CSA, giving cover to human rights abuses that especially affect minority communities. One of the bitter fruits of this scaremongering has been the rise of the far-right QAnon conspiracy movement.

Even so, there are reasons to be hopeful. One of them is that as the tide of public and official sentiment has turned against QAnon in 2020, we have a golden opportunity to respond with stigma-free, scientifically accurate information about CSA and its prevention. Another is that as thought leaders are increasingly promoting alternatives to policing as a response to social problems, funders will begin to pay more attention to primary prevention initiatives.

Prostasia Foundation takes pride in our evidence-based, prevention-first approach. We also recognize that child protection is the area in which it is most important to ensure that human rights are upheld in all that we do—because it is the first area where those rights are likely to be infringed upon. When no other advocacy group dares to call out the human rights abuses and misinformation put forward in the name of protecting children, you can rely on Prostasia Foundation to do just that—while also offering a powerful positive agenda for prevention.

But we can’t do it alone. Despite our growth this year, we remain a small organization, and our ability to raise money from major donors has been constrained by the (needlessly) contentious nature of the area in which we work. To help ensure our sustainability in 2021 and beyond, please consider pledging to support us as a donor, member, or partner today.

Prostasia is hiring for the following roles. All positions are remote. Roles will be filled at an intern or part-time level, with an eventual transition into full-time paid roles anticipated. Send your résumé and covering letter to [email protected] to apply.

Social media manager

As social media manager, your primary responsibility is to manage our Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram social media accounts. This will require you to generate at least four pieces of content daily, which you will  source from Twitter, news aggregation software, and our website and forum. You will also be responsible for dealing with replies and comments, in cooperation with Executive Director. You will work closely with our activist, blog editor, and designer. Familiarity with the use of Buffer is an advantage for this position, but is not essential.

Development officer

In collaboration with our Executive Director, the Development Officer is responsible for leading our fundraising effort. Our main sources of funding are memberships (including small non-recurring donations), corporate donations, and grants from charitable foundations. Your role will include developing all of these sources of funding. This requires grantwriting experience or a willingness to learn, as well as initiative and drive in following up leads from corporate and individual donors.

Video producer

We have a series of long form video interviews on our YouTube channel, which are also released as downloadable podcast episodes. Most interviews are conducted remotely using Internet videoconferencing software, but some may be held in person. Your job will be to coordinate the production of each episode by helping the Executive Director and Activist to scout for guests, scheduling with the guests and interviewer, testing the audiovisual quality at each end, and working with the Designer on video inserts. You may also be involved in editing and posting the final product.

When I audit resources and media to review for Prostasia, I try to think, not like an advocate, but rather, like a parent. Parents and guardians are, by and large, the first line of defense against CSA. Since a staggering majority of CSA is perpetrated by people close to and known by the victim, parents and guardians are uniquely situated to provide the most shelter from abuse. Parents don’t always have all the same resources, information, or time to dig into scientific research regarding prevention as advocates do. So, I think in terms of the children in my own life and what I want to know about protecting them and then analyze resources from there. 

Prevent It by Little Warriors is a program geared at helping adults understand what child sexual abuse is and how to help prevent it. They have a longer form workshop with in person/Zoom options for groups of people to receive a more in depth training. But they also offer a 90 minute solo workshop made up of videos and quizzes. I did the 90 minute workshop and that’s what this review will center on. 

Little Warriors is a Candadian organization so their workshop is based on Canadian law, however, their information is backed by science and is pretty mainstream in evidence led child protection. Most of the information is not dependent upon local laws but has more to do with what is known about prevention and treatment of CSA.

Both workshops are free, making them accessible to a wider range of parents, caregivers, and advocates. They do ask that you sign up and don’t share their materials, but as everything is free, this seems like a pretty small request. Both come with a workbook that expands a bit on the concepts covered. With the guide, you can check back on what you learned or use it as a resource for others. 

This workshop seems well designed and moves at a good clip. Some of it may seem kind of basic but that is more or less the idea. This is more to get your feet wet, give you a framework, and to provide strategies for protecting children. While the projected time for completion is 90 minutes, you have 14 days to complete it so you can take it at a pace that works for you. I definitely took breaks and completed it over a couple days. 

In the intro you are given some starter stats and information and then things break down into 4 parts based on a STOP acronym - Study, Talk, Observe, Prepare for action. Broadly, this gives you the steps to recognize warning signs or abuse, how to act in relation to the child, and what kind of intervention is needed. The later sections cover things like organizational policies that can be made in organizations where adults work directly with minors.

It is common, under the guise of protecting children, to shame them for age appropriate exploration of their bodies that comes naturally. The training here recognizes this as typical development and encourages parents and caregivers not to stigmatize these behaviors. I feel this acknowledgement deserves honorable mention. 

The final section is actually a pitch for donations. You can click through these sections but I actually suggest you at least watch the provided video on what is done with donations. Their treatment facility, the Be Brave Ranch, for CSA victims is a trauma informed, long term care program. In order to make sure money is not a barrier to treatment, it is provided free and that’s where the donations come in. The facility and program actually look pretty great and I can’t blame them for asking for donations at the end of a no-cost workshop. It is both not obnoxious and probably worth considering. 

All in all, I highly recommend the Prevent It workshop to anyone looking for a better understanding of the impact of CSA and how to prevent it. As a caregiver and child protection advocate, this was definitely worth my time and I am considering the longer form workshop. Now I’m off to print out my nifty completion certificate!