MSC's Official Blog

The official blog for MAP Support Club

You may have read somewhere on the internet that some scary-sounding site called MAP Support Club is operated or moderated by Prostasia Foundation.

This is false.

Prostasia Foundation operates as a child protection partner to MAP Support Club, and has provided us with three main benefits:

  • Financial proxy – they help serve as an easy way for our staff and members to donate towards our continued operation.
  • Child protection software – they have paid to integrate Microsoft's PhotoDNA into the software in which we operate, Rocket.Chat. This software scans our chat for sexually harmful images of children.
  • Advising us on legal and public relations issues – they have assisted us in ensuring that terms of service and our privacy policy are up to scratch. We are also working with them on a review of our draft safeguarding policies, and have implemented a zero tolerance policy towards 1-on-1 interactions with minors on our platform which you can read about here. We have made it not technically possible for minors to read or send direct messages on our platform.

As you can see from our terms of service, we are committed to never harming children or tolerating harm towards them on our platform. We have many strict rules that we enforce. Our administrators have the ability to access direct messages if they have any reason to believe that someone is breaking our rules or the law.

MAP Support Club exists because of two simple facts:

  • The average age at which someone discovers they are sexually attracted to prepubescent children is 14 years. Source.
  • The stigma towards minor-attracted people is such that peer support is usually the only manner of support available to us. Source.

Every human being on this planet deserves support to live healthy lives, including us.

If you agree, please donate to help us provide that support.

Our mission is to make sure that MSC remains a strong, safe, and secure community where MAPs can receive the support and community that they need and deserve. Recently we have taken a step towards improving the safety and long term viability of the community, with the advice of the experts we work with: limiting the ability for MSC to be misused for sexual grooming of minors.

We believe the feelings people have right now – among staff and our membership – are completely valid. We did not adequately communicate all of what we considered in reaching the conclusion we did, nor did we adequately prepare for the questions people would have. To make it worse, staff has been struggling to resolve internal disputes for some time that are interpersonal and ideological, and a lot of people on our staff are hurting right now.

None of that is an excuse for the way we sprang this on the community, and we are sorry we did not take more preparation in communicating our decision or considering how people might react. This is a big change – a big change we never could have anticipated when Ender and Oliver formed MSC almost 5 years ago. We have experienced explosive growth since December and have struggled to put years of precedent into writing, policy, and communicate those adequately enough to train our staff and make our expectations to the MSC community as transparent as possible.

Reasons and Considerations

There was a significant incident that MSC admins and moderators discovered quite by accident via a tweet published on January the 27th: The possibility that someone from MSC was silently taking screenshots of conversations in onboarding going back to the time period of August to November. We looked into the account that shared those tweets and compared it against the interests and writing style of our members. We uncovered three suspects, viewed their direct messages, and found inappropriate messages that violated our rules.

We immediately banned those two members and notified them of our decision and the reasons for it, a decision we reached by team consensus. Both members attempted to misrepresent the situation, one of whom was extremely public about their side of the story. Because of our privacy policies at the time, we could not describe what happened in any detail. That is why we met on February the 11th 2021, and also why we overhauled our terms of service and privacy policy.

Since February 11th, 2021, we have considered many different possible paths forward to resolve these issues and prevent further issues. These are listed below.

Before those, though, we have heard one thing loud and clear from this. MAPs did not appreciate a sudden announcement of the change and would have preferred some kind of prior consultation.

We understand that we did not explain all of the below reasons to you when we announced this change, and we should have. We also did not explain that we were likely to make changes in response to the incident we noted in #announcements in January 2021, or ask for the wider community’s suggestions at that point. We apologize that we did not do so.

For the future, we will make a better effort to consult with the community on important changes and explain the reasoning for those changes before we announce their implementation. Sometimes our hands will be tied anyway, and sometimes we will have to make quick decisions without consultation, but we recognise in this case that there is no perfect solution and that suggestions should be considered.

What Factors Did Staff Consider In Making This Decision?

  1. Parting ways with Prostasia Foundation: This was not an option because they provide financial proxying so that we can cover our hosting costs without putting our staff's financial and therefore real-life name and information in the public sphere, and because they provide legal protection and advice to us. They have also assisted us in forming an arrangement with Stop It Now! to provide the sessions we have in the channel currently named therapy, and another arrangement is currently in the works.

  2. Scanning direct messages rather than removing them: This, as the membership can see from the #dm-scanning-terms channel which many are a part of, has been considered for quite some time. We determined it was not feasible in the short term of several months, in part due to the upfront cost involved in writing a unique program to do all of what we need it to do, and because of the vast time and resources it would take to implement. We also found it challenging to define a simple list of words that “gave away” whether a conversation was appropriate or not. It is not an immediate solution to concerns of sexual harm occurring on our platform and it is reactive, not preventative. That would likely take from many months to years to develop, let alone properly fund.

  3. Concerns that the support our minor members receive would be impacted: It is true that this will change the way we offer support to minor members, and that some of you will miss the kind of support you received in DMs, most of which we believe was positive. However, a question we had to deal with was whether we made the right decision offering unrestricted DMs when MSC started on Rocketchat. In our Discord days, MSC had no responsibility for what went on in DM chats as they were not part of MSC. This changed when we moved to Rocketchat. While we could not see a way to reconcile a reasonable duty of care with unrestricted DMs, we discussed the idea of forming private rooms at minor request that fit a 2-staff-to-minor ratio in order to continue providing support to our minor members. We also decided to allow minors to choose who is in a private group with them to ensure they remain comfortable with the persons involved, and can make that choice themselves under the 2-staff-to-one-minor framework. 1-on-1 situations in volunteer organizations are not the best practice – at least one other adult must be present, and that is how most volunteer organizations run things and professional organizations have much higher standards. Continuing to allow 1-on-1 situations is not viable for us as a community where minors are involved.

  4. Ceasing to allow minors: This goes directly against the reasons MSC was formed, and was an option that one person suggested as a technical possibility, but one that nobody on our staff supported in any form or manner. This option was merely brought up to ensure we had all the viable options to choose from.

  5. Balancing our duty as a platform to protect members against our ideals of education and communication: We commit to ensuring that younger applicants are aware of the risks and the opportunities to seek support from our staff or elsewhere, however it is common for victims/survivors of abuse to not report that they have been harmed for many years.

  6. One staff monitoring two people is sufficient This was considered, but we tried to find a balance of observation so that a staff member could not make a decision by themself to either ignore or delete messages that clearly break the rules (this is particularly important if there is a serious rule-breach). Having a channel overseen by two staff lowers the risk that a staff member acts alone or against the rules and covers it up by deleting. Imagine if two minors were in a chat with a staff member, the staff member wrote something inappropriate then deleted their comment, and the two minors were both very new and felt intimidated about raising the concern by themselves. We think a second staff member’s presence should deter that. We have tried to balance the risk of adding more and more staff (and making the chat feel less private) against the risk of DMs being abused, as above. We are also aware that conversations on MSC can be fast moving and members of staff may not be checking in frequently. Finally, should a chat be requested with a specific member of staff, the only other adult present would be an additional member of staff.

  7. The concern of being shut down: Because of the very unique and niche nature of MSC, this risk is greater because we provide services to minors by people who many in society see as risks to minors. Nearly all MAP communities are adult-only and some openly share stories of them harming children, many more than people realize in comparison to places like Virped or MSC. These are the kinds of communities that law enforcement is aware of and monitors for the chance of arresting the worst of the worst, if not running them directly as the FBI and Australian law enforcement has been found to do. MSC is not the kind of community that law enforcement would merely monitor, and the level of backlash if we took no actions to safeguard our minor members would set back not only our mission but, by association, would tarnish the efforts of other sites in the anti-contact MAP community. It is both about operational security and about the fear of public backlash and the effects that backlash can have on our ability to continue operating and providing support to MAPs.

  8. The concern of people going off-platform: This is mainly a concern for the minors we have in our community right now. While we cannot stop people or expect them to not share off-platform communication methods before implementing this change, that is also not a decision that we would like to see people make, even while it is somewhat inevitable. We are not concerned with invading the confidential conversations that are required for support; we are concerned mainly with ensuring that these conversations remain appropriate and harm-free so that people can be safely supported.

  9. Staff concerns about our own ability to adequately support members: 2020 has been difficult, and the effects of the pandemic are further-reaching than any of us is individually aware of. The reality is, being on staff in MSC is balanced against the needs of our own lives: work, school, friends and family, and partners outside of MSC. We also see MSC members as part of our family. To see any part of that family struggling hurts, and those hurts add up, especially knowing that there is a limit to the amount of support we can provide to people. We must balance the realities of our own life as staff.

  10. Fear of a law enforcement investigation: We value our members' privacy and we must balance that value against the harsh realities that a law enforcement investigation would bring upon MSC. That is, no member's private information would remain private and would be viewed by law enforcement and if charges were brought, the court, and even the general public. We do not want to see a violation of that manner ever happen in MSC.

  11. The context in which MSC operates: This is a complex reason that starts with the big change Twitter made in October 2020: They effectively decided to ban MAPs via policy, which they decided with many big names in sexual violence “prevention.” We put that in quotes because those big names are largely hostile to our cause of getting support for fears that such “support” in their eyes can become a method for radicalizing people into sexually abusing children. They have a lot of fear around us. These organizations are organizations like Canadian Child Protect, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the End Child Prostitution and Trafficking, and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, all of whom we can tell you do not pay attention to facts or reason, but fear and emotion. We have a very low opinion of these organizations.   This is an important fact because it demonstrates the resolve, organization, and power that these groups have to effectively silence organizations, advocacy, and ideas they disagree with. That is the environment Prostasia Foundation is working in, as the very reason Prostasia Foundation was formed is to protect the idea that support for minor- attracted people is a fundamental human right.   It is in that environment that the very first major community that serves both minors and adults is attempting to gain a foothold. That's us. We do not have the luxury of operating as if we exist in our own bubble. Without Prostasia Foundation's partnership, first established in November, 2018 and publicized thereafter, MSC would not exist today because our administrator team would bear the full responsibility of what happens on our platform, both positive and negative, without the financial proxy that Prostasia Foundation provides and without the legal expertise that Jeremy has to offer, and certainly without the ear to the ground that they have in knowing how the aforementioned organizations operate.

Short Version

We did consider all of the options above when we reached the conclusion we did, and we weighed the concerns seriously while balancing them against our needs. During our conversations in map-talk in the last 24 hours, we heard very clearly almost all of the concerns we considered in our process of reaching the conclusion we did, which is why it was presented as a final decision. We do not like the position we found ourselves in, but we are not in a situation in our lives in which we can take upon ourselves the full legal, social, and financial responsibilities to run MSC without a partner like Prostasia Foundation, and not having that kind of a partner would severely limit the amount of support MSC could provide above and beyond the level to which revoking solo DM's with minors would.

We would ask each and every one of you to read this over carefully several times and, of course, ask any questions you may have and pose any suggestions you can think of. We are firm in our resolution to ensure that 1-on-1 situations with minors must not happen on our platform. In how we best go about that to balance the concerns, we are happy to consider all the perspectives so that we can continue being MAP Support Club.

Peer support is something you rarely hear in most contexts outside a professional atmosphere. Why is that? It is primarily because with most issues, even stigmatized issues, people can talk about them and get support. Drug addiction? You can join support groups, get support with getting clean, go to a rehab center, talk with people online... all with little to no serious problems.

For minor-attracted people, though, that is not realistically an option. If we go to a mental health support group, people talk and therapists can report us to the police because they simply do not know enough about minor attraction to be properly supportive. In some cases, therapists choose not to learn and would rather refer people to someone else. There are few, if any, therapy centers that specialize in sexuality enough to know how to treat minor-attracted people in a supportive and non-judgmental way. So what professional or peer support is available to minor-attracted people? Not much.

If we tell friends, family, or neighbors, we take the risk that they might out us as a pedophile to the entire community. If we are seen by someone we know in a dedicated therapy office, we take that same risk. Our options are improving, but still very limited compared to most other struggles out there.

The benefits of peer support vary widely. For many, the biggest thing we learn is a label by which we can call ourselves. For some, anti-contact MAP is that label. Some choose no-contact or non-contact, which is an emerging term to indicate that no amount of sexual contact with a child is acceptable, including for the purposes of creating sexually harmful imagery. Others choose simply to call themselves a pedophile – someone attracted to prepubescent children – because they believe that identifying their stance is inherently stigmatizing. Regardless, having a term we identify with is one step closer to feeling heard, validated, and accepted.

Many minor-attracted people have very big issues with self-esteem and hating themselves for their attractions. So, to have support from others who go through the same thing can be positively life-changing.

There are, of course, inherent PR risks to minor-attracted people gathering for the purposes of peer support. The less educated folk think we go around sharing sexually harmful images, regardless of having removed people from our community for attempting to do so and having clear policies in our terms of service against sharing even innocent images of children. These misunderstandings are, unfortunately, commonplace among people who erroneously believe they do not know any minor-attracted people.

Regardless of these misunderstandings and the reasons for them, peer support also gives people who are open to learning an opportunity to talk to us. It gives researchers a place to post surveys and studies, and it gives sympathetic professionals a place to possibly volunteer once they pass our vetting process. It also ensures a place where minor-attracted people concerned about morality and wanting to keep children safe a comfortable place to find community. Weighed against the PR risks, there is no realistic reason why peer support should not exist for everyone who needs support.

Hi!

I'm writing you with mixed news that you will want to sit down for. On May 13th, one of our staff members in MAP Support Club, a peer support chat designed for minors, notified us that there was a claim that a relatively new MAP ally on Twitter killed themselves. We were initially skeptical.

The MAP ally's name was Randy, and for the past two to three weeks, they were taking abuse and harassment simply for supporting minor attracted people like myself and those in our community. That led to their death. I know this because one of our allies, Rusty Warner, put a call into an FBI agent he knows, and confirmed on May 14th that they are investigating his suicide, which happened on May 9th. Randy was 19 years old.

As an administrator of MAP Support Club, I am devastated to hear that Randy and those close to him didn't have the support he needed because our support chat, which we run through a partnership with Prostasia Foundation, is well equipped to advise people on how to stay safe on social media and provide support when people need it. We have the proper rules and privacy policy in place.

Until last month, we have kept our chat very private, only telling trusted allies of our existence for fear of being infiltrated by trolls and haters. In the month since we've gone public, we haven't had many trolls. While that can always change, as administrator, I believe it is time that MAP Support Club stops hiding and starts helping. But we can't do it alone.

We don't have therapists in our chat. Our staff doesn't have and doesn't know how to access crisis training resources to help us be more effective in helping people. We don't have the ability to scan our server for illegal images and report offenders. We don't have the ability to actively monitor minor direct messages for possible exploitation. These things take time, connections, technical expertise, and of course, money.

We need your help. If you run an organization with a website, please consider listing our blog page, and stay tuned for that to update to a website in the next few months. If you are a therapist, please consider donating your time. If you have financial resources, please consider sharing them. If you talk to minor attracted people, please talk about our community. If you're not already in our community, please consider joining. All I need is an email with a username you'd like to go by in our chat, and for you to fill out the attached PDF (if you are currently in MSC, please fill out the attached form and email it back as a reply all).

Randy was only trying to help minor attracted people and spread awareness of the challenges and hatred that we face. For that, he was bullied into suicide. Please help us so we can help prevent more people from harming themselves.

Thank you for your time,

—

Timothy N. Fury

Advocate for the Primary Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse

Administrator in MAP Support Club.

General Blogs

• "Celibate Pedophiles", by Ethan Edwards — https://celibatepedos.virped.org

• "Not A Monster", by Todd Nickerson — https://notamonsterblog.wordpress.com/

• "Pensamentos Folle", by Lucas P. Folle (Portuguese/English) — http://pensamentosfolle.blogspot.com

• "A Life Less Lonely", by Leonard – https://livingwithpedophilia.wordpress.com/

Blogs and Publications

• Pedophiles About Pedophilia — https://aboutpedophilia.com/

Other Websites

• MAP Resources, Resources and support for those struggling with their attractions. — https://www.mapresources.info

• Virtuous Pedophiles, a website for non-offending, anti-contact pedophiles (fill in contact form to access peer support forum) — http://virped.org

• B4U-ACT, organization to educate mental health providers and promote access to mental health support for MAPs, with a peer support forum for MAPs and support options for friends and relatives — http://b4uact.org

• Christian Pedophile, a website for Christian pedophiles — http://christianpedophile.com/

• Čepek, Czech site for non-offending pedophiles — http://pedofilie-info.cz

• The Primary Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, site with resources about preventing CSA — https://csaprimaryprevention.org/

#Resources

Newsletters

Map For Life, Bly Rede, Newsletter – http://mapforlife.substack.com/

2010

• "Gold Star Pedophiles", Dan Savage, The Stranger (Feb 4, 2010) — http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=3347526

2012

• "Another Gold-Star Pedophile", Dan Savage, The Stranger (Mar 7, 2012) — http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=12927907

• "Do pedophiles deserve sympathy?", James Cantor, CNN (Jun 21, 2012) — http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/21/opinion/cantor-pedophila-sandusky/

• "Meet pedophiles who mean well: The men behind VirtuousPedophiles.com are attracted to children but devoted to denying their desires", Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon.com (Jun 30, 2012) — http://www.salon.com/2012/07/01/meet_pedophiles_who_mean_well/

• "Born This Way: Sympathy and Science for Those Who Want to Have Sex with Children", Cord Jefferson, Gawker.com (Sep 7, 2012) — http://gawker.com/5941037/born-this-way-sympathy-and-science-for-those-who--want-to-have-sex-with-children

• "The Science of Pedophilia: Is It a Sexual Orientation?", Makini Brice, Medical Daily (Sep 7, 2012) — http://www.medicaldaily.com/science-pedophilia-it-sexual-orientation-242403

• "How Can We Stop Pedophiles? Stop treating them like monsters", Jennifer Bleyer, Slate.com (Sep 24, 2012) — http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2012/09/stop_childhood_sexual_abuse_how_to_treat_pedophilia_.html

• "Sandusky Will Die in Prison, and We Talked To a Pedophilia Expert", Vinnie Rotondaro, Vice (Oct 9, 2012) — https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gqwkx4/sandusky-will-die-in-prison-and-we-talked-to-a-pedophilia-expert

2013

• "Paedophilia: Bringing Dark Desires To Light", Jon Henley, The Guardian (Jan 2, 2013) — http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/jan/03/paedophilia-bringing-dark-desires-light

• "Many researchers taking a different view of pedophilia", Alan Zarembo (Jan 14, 2013) — http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/14/local/la-me-pedophiles-20130115

• "The Science of Sex Abuse. Is it right to imprison people for heinous crimes they have not yet committed?", Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker (Jan 14, 2013) — http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/01/14/the-science-of-sex-abuse

• "Pedophilia, Preemptive Imprisonment, and the Ethics of Predisposition", Kyle Edwards, Practical Ethics, University of Oxford (Jan 21, 2013) — http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2013/01/pedophilia-preemptive-imprisonment-and-the-ethics-of-predisposition/

• "Are Some Men Born Pedophiles? New Science Says Yes, But Sexologists Say Not So Fast", Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet (Jan 21, 2013) — http://www.alternet.org/are-some-men-born-pedophiles-new-science-says-yes-sexologists-say-not-so-fast

• "Happy Birthday, Virtuous Pedophiles!", James Cantor, Sexology Today Blog (Jul 15, 2013) — http://www.sexologytoday.org/2013/07/happy-birthday-virtuous-pedophiles.html#more

• "The Missing Link Between Pedophiles and the Rest of Us", Alice Dreger, Pacific Standard (Jul 16, 2013) — https://psmag.com/social-justice/meet-the-hebephiles-the-missing-link-between-pedophiles-and-the-rest-of-us-62633

• "A prevention-first approach to child sexual abuse", Elizabeth Letourneau, The Baltimor Sun (Aug 6, 2013) — http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-08-06/news/bs-ed-child-sexual-abuse-20130806_1_child-sexual-abuse-substance-abuse-csa

• "I, Pedophile", David Goldberg, The Atlantic (Aug 26, 2013) — https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/08/i-pedophile/278921/

• "What Can Be Done About Pedophilia?", Alice Dreger, The Atlantic (Aug 26, 2013) — http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/08/what-can-be-done-about-pedophilia/279024/

• "Not All Pedophiles Have Mental Disorder, American Psychiatric Association Says In New DSM", Hunter Stuart, The Huffington Post (Nov 1, 2013) — http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/01/dsm-pedophilia-mental-disorder-paraphilia_n_4184878.html

• "Is Pedophilia a Sexual Orientation?", Laura Kane, Toronto Star (Dec 22, 2013) — http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/12/22/is_pedophilia_a_sexual_orientation.html

2014

• "Inside the mind of a paedophile", Martin McKenzie-Murray, The Saturday Paper (May 10, 2014) — https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/society/2014/05/10/inside-the-mind-paedophile/1399644000

• "Study Finds Pedophiles’ Brains Wired to Find Children Attractive", Charlotte Lytton, Daily Beast (May 23, 2014) — http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/23/study-finds-pedophiles-brains-wired-to-find-children-attractive.html

• "Virtuous Pedophiles group gives support therapy cannot", Amber Hildebrandt, CBC News (Jul 18, 2014) — http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/virtuous-pedophiles-group-gives-support-therapy-cannot-1.2710160

• "The Pedophiles Who Didn’t Want to Hurt Children", Choire Sicha, The Awl (Aug 11, 2014) — https://theawl.com/the-pedophiles-who-didnt-want-to-hurt-children-7ea5d5a81c17

• "You’re 16. You’re a Pedophile. You Don’t Want to Hurt Anyone. What Do You Do Now?", Luke Malone, Matter (Aug 11, 2014) — https://medium.com/matter/youre-16-youre-a-pedophile-you-dont-want-to-hurt-anyone-what-do-you-do-now-e11ce4b88bdb

• "Should we do more to help paedophiles?", Rebecca Roache, Practical Ethics, University of Oxford (Aug 12, 2014) — http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2014/08/should-we-do-more-to-help-paedophiles/

• "Pedophilia: A Disorder, Not a Crime", Margo Kaplan, The New York Times (Oct 5, 2014) — https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/opinion/pedophilia-a-disorder-not-a-crime.html

• "We Need to Make It Easier for Pedophiles To Seek Help", Elizabeth Letourneau, Time (Oct 10, 2014) — http://time.com/3486493/preventing-child-sex-abuse-stephen-collins/

• "'I Am A Paedophile': Is Our Approach To Sex Offenders Helping To Create More Victims?", Steve Humphries, The Independent (Nov 24, 2014) — http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/i-am-a-paedophile-is-our-approach-to-sex-offenders-helping-to-create-more-victims-9880699.html

• "When society mistakes pedophiles for molesters", Kate Ferguson, dw.com (Dec 12, 2014) — http://www.dw.com/en/when-society-mistakes-pedophiles-for-molesters/a-18104211

• "Virtuous pedophiles exist", Kelly Babchisin, NextGenForensic (Dec 19, 2014) — https://nextgenforensic.wordpress.com/2014/12/19/virtuous-pedophiles-exist/

2015

• "Can you stop a paedophile before they even start?", Dominic Hurst, BBC News (Feb 4, 2015) — http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31114106

• "5 Ways We Misunderstand Pedophilia (That Makes it Worse)", Robert Evans, Cracked.com (Feb 8, 2015) — http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1658-5-ways-were-making-pedophilia-worse.html

• "How Precision in Language Can Help Prevent Sexual Abuse", Kelly Babchishin, Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment (Feb 20, 2015) — http://sajrt.blogspot.se/2015/02/how-precision-in-language-can-help.html?m=1/

• "Child Celibate: Understanding Non-Offending Pedophilia", Alexander McBride Wilson, Lens Culture (May 2015) — https://www.lensculture.com/projects/105782-child-celibate-understanding

• "In Germany, they treat paedophiles as victims… not offenders", Rose Troup Buchanan, The Independent (Jul 14, 2015) — https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/in-germany-they-treat-paedophiles-as-victims-not-offenders-10387468.html

• "Facing Disturbing Truths About Pedophilia Could Help Us Keep Kids Safer", Brian Whitney, Pacific Standard (Jul 16, 2015) — https://psmag.com/social-justice/facing-disturbing-truths-about-pedophilia-could-help-us-keep-kids-safer

• "As courts censure civil detention practices, is it time for professionals to speak up?", David Prescott, Forensic Psychologist (Sep 14, 2015) — http://forensicpsychologist.blogspot.se/2015/09/as-courts-censure-civil-detention.html

• "I’m a pedophile, but not a monster", Todd Nickerson, Salon.com (archive.is) (Sep 21, 2015) — http://archive.li/NhhZ4#selection-2353.1-2353.36

• "I'm a Pedophile, You're the Monsters", Todd Nickerson, Salon.com (archive.is) (Sep 30, 2015) — http://archive.li/VYx1X

• "How Germany treats paedophiles before they offend", Kate Connolly, The Guardian (Oct 16, 2015) — https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/16/how-germany-treats-paedophiles-before-they-offend

• "The pedophile I could not help", Debra Soh, Salon.com (Oct 27, 2015) — http://www.salon.com/2015/10/27/the_pedophile_i_could_not_help_he_was_not_a_monster_or_a_molester_the_system_destroyed_him_anyway/

• "Sympathy for the Deviant", Jennifer Bleyer, Psychology Today (Nov 3, 2015) — https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201511/sympathy-the-deviant

• "Are paedophiles' brains wired differently?", BBC News Magazine (Nov 24, 2015) — http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34858350

• "Of People and Pedophiles", Sean Smith, The Varsity Magazine (Nov 28, 2015) — http://magazine.thevarsity.ca/2015/11/28/of-people-and-pedophiles/

2016

• "Stigma and non-offending pedophiles", Ian McPhail, NextGenForensic (Jan 10, 2016) — https://nextgenforensic.wordpress.com/2016/01/10/stigma-and-non-offending-pedophiles/

• "Can Child Dolls Keep Pedophiles from Offending?", Roc Morin, The Atlantic (Jan 11, 2016) — https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/01/can-child-dolls-keep-pedophiles-from-offending/423324/

• "Can Virtual Sex Prevent Pedophiles from Harming Children in Real Life?", Cecilia D’Anastasio, Broadly (Jan 14, 2016) — https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/d7am4w/can-virtual-sex-prevent-pedophiles-from-harming-children-in-real-life

• "Realizing You're A Pedophile Can Make you Want To Kill Yourself", Paul Willis, Vice (Jan 15, 2016) — https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/yvxkpv/realizing-youre-a-pedophile-can-make-you-want-to-kill-yourself

• "Sentencing Memorandum in Case Involving Child Pornography", Jack Weinstein, US District Court, Eastern NY (Jan 21, 2016) — https://www.scribd.com/doc/296450418/USA-v-RJ-sentencing-pdf

• "Should this man go to prison for buying a child sex doll?", Kristen Brown, Fusion (Feb 1, 2016) — http://fusion.kinja.com/should-this-man-go-to-prison-for-buying-a-child-sex-dol-1793854394

• "For Looking at Child Porn, a Judge Imposes a Sentence of Days Rather Than Years", Jacob Sullum, Reason.com (Feb 1, 2016) — http://reason.com/blog/2016/02/01/for-looking-at-child-pornography-a-feder

• "DARK NET: The “Virtuous” Online Pedophile Forums", Ian Frisch, Vocativ (Feb 3, 2016) — http://www.vocativ.com/279399/pedophile-forums-dark-net/

• "Newfoundland’s Child Sex Doll Trial Raises Uncomfortable Questions About Pedophilia and the Law", Dorian Geiger, Vice (Feb 25, 2016) — https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/kwxj7w/newfoundlands-child-sex-doll-trial-raises-uncomfortable-questions-about-pedophilia-and-the-law

• "What should we do about paedophiles?", Sophie Elmhirst, The Guardian (Mar 1, 2016) — https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/01/what-should-we-do-about-paedophiles?CMP=share_btn_link

• "I, Pedophile dares to empathize", Martin Knelman, The Star (Mar 9, 2016) — https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2016/03/09/i-pedophile-dares-to-empathize-knelman.html

• "Tackling A Tough Subject: Why I Made a Documentary About Pedophiles", Matthew Campea, CBC FirstHand (Mar 10, 2016) — http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/blog/tackling-a-tough-subject-why-i-made-a-documentary-about-pedophiles

• "Four Misconceptions About Pedophiles", CBC FirstHand (Mar 10, 2016) — http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/features/four-misconceptions-about-pedophiles

• "Berlin doc terms pedophilia a sexual orientation", The Times of India (Mar 10, 2016) — http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/berlin-doc-terms-pedophilia-a-sexual-orientation/articleshow/51339142.cms

• "The List", Sarah Stillman, The New Yorker (Mar 14, 2016) — http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/14/when-kids-are-accused-of-sex-crimes

• "Non-Offending Pedophiles Suffer From Isolation", Robert Muller, PhD, Psychology Today (Mar 17, 2016) — https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/talking-about-trauma/201603/non-offending-pedophiles-suffer-isolation

• "Paedophilia a 'sexual orientation – like being straight or gay'", Ian Johnston, Independent (Apr 3, 2016) — http://www.independent.co.uk/news/paedophilia-sexual-orientation-straight-gay-criminal-psychologist-child-sex-abuse-a6965956.html

• "A coming out that has to remain a secret", Ben Kirssen (Apr 13, 2016) — https://pedofieltweets.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/a-coming-out-that-has-to-remain-a-secret/

• "How Should Society Handle Pedophiles Who Haven’t Hurt Anyone?", Jesse Singal, Science of Us (Apr 13, 2016) — http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/04/how-should-society-handle-pedophiles-who-haven-t-hurt-anyone.html

• "How is Pedophilia a Health Issue?", Ruby Prosser Scully, The Medical Republic (Apr 29, 2016) — http://medicalrepublic.com.au/paedophilia-health-issue/

• "Beyond Choice & Reason: Non-Offending Pedophilia", Alexander McBride Wilson, Flint Magazine (May 1, 2016) — http://www.flintmag.com/portfolio/beyond-choice-non-offending-paedophilia/

• "Can paedophilia really be cured with drugs?", Belinda Winder, The Conversation (May 17, 2016) — https://theconversation.com/can-paedophilia-really-be-cured-with-drugs-59216

• "‘Virtuous Pedophiles’ Put Therapists In An Ethical Catch-22", Tracy Clark-Flory, Vocativ (May 23, 2016) — http://www.vocativ.com/315929/pedophiles-seeking-help-put-therapists-in-ethical-catch-22/

• "Disclosing a sexual interest in children to others: The experience of a non-offending pedophile", Ian McPhail interview with @ender, NextGenForensic (Jun 12, 2016) — https://nextgenforensic.wordpress.com/2016/06/12/disclosing-a-sexual-interest-in-children-to-others-the-experience-of-a-non-offending-pedophile/

• "Is Paedophilia A New Sexual Orientation?", Chester Frampton, Wessex Scene (Jun 15, 2016) — https://www.wessexscene.co.uk/magazine/2016/06/15/is-paedophilia-a-new-sexual-orientation/

• "Should We Lift the Stigma on “Virtuous Pedophiles”?", Sherry Colb, Verdict (Jul 12, 2016) — https://verdict.justia.com/2016/07/12/lift-stigma-virtuous-pedophiles

• "First, save the children", The Economist (Aug 11, 2016) — https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21704794-punitive-laws-intended-protect-children-sexual-assault-too-often-make-them-less

• " Mandatory Reporting Consultation", StopSO (Aug, 27,2016) — https://stopso.org.uk/mandatory-reporting/

• "Shedding light on the dark field", The Economist (Aug 13, 2016) — https://www.economist.com/news/international/21704795-understanding-sexual-attraction-children-essential-if-they-are-be-kept

• "What It’s Like to Be a Celibate Pedophile", Alexa Tsoulis-Reay, Science of Us (Aug 18, 2016) — http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/08/what-its-like-to-be-a-celibate-pedophile.html

• "Preventing Child Abuse: How To Work With Paedophiles To Stop The First Crime From Happening", Juliet Grayson, The Huffington Post (Aug 26, 2016) — http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/juliet-grayson/child-abuse-paedophilia_b_11684296.html

• "Counterpoint: After Jacob, work harder to prevent child sexual abuse", Elizabeth Letourneau, Star Tribune (Sep 8, 2016) — http://www.startribune.com/counterpoint-after-jacob-work-harder-to-prevent-child-sexual-abuse/392817391/

• "A Different Perspective for Stopping Child Sexual Abuse", Elizabeth Letourneau, Psychology Today (Sep 11, 2016) — https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prevention-now/201609/different-perspective-stopping-child-sexual-abuse

• "He Is A Paedophile, But That Does Not Make Him A Child Molester", Juliet Grayson, The Huffington Post (Sep 18, 2016) — http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/juliet-grayson/he-is-a-paedophile-but-th_b_12046562.html

• "Should we care when Paedophiles are murdered?", Cursed E (Sep 21, 2016) — https://cursede.blog/2016/09/21/paedophiles-anger-and-death/

• "Why Would Someone Choose to Be a Monster?",Simon Lewsen, The Walrus (Sep 28, 2016) — https://thewalrus.ca/why-would-someone-choose-to-be-a-monster/

• "Brains of paedophiles who abuse children are different to those who do not, scientists discover", Ian Johnston, The Independent (Oct 25, 2016) — http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/paedophile-brains-difference-child-sex-abusers-those-who-dont-study-a7378911.html

• "Inside The Brain Of A Pedophile: MRI Scans Reveal Differences In Those Who Harm Children And Those Who Do Not", Dana Dovey, Medical Daily (Oct 25, 2016) — http://www.medicaldaily.com/inside-brain-pedophile-mri-scans-reveal-differences-those-who-harm-children-402364

• "Model project for pedophiles saved", DW.com (Oct 25, 2016) — http://www.dw.com/en/model-project-for-pedophiles-saved/a-36154362

• "He's a 'Good Pedophile'", Chantal McCulligh, Anxiety Gone (Oct 27, 2016) — http://anxiety-gone.com/hes-good-pedophile/

• "'Virtuous pedophile' who admits being attracted to children but has never abused anyone is trying to encourage others in his situation to come forward", Julian Robinson, Mail Online (Nov 17, 2016) — http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3945648/Virtuous-pedophile-admits-attracted-children-never-abused-trying-encourage-situation-come-forward.html

• "Self-confessed paedophile claims he's ETHICAL for not abusing children – and wants to change society's views on his sexual desires", Tom Midlane & Anthony Bond, The Mirror (Nov 17, 2016) — http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/self-confessed-paedophile-claims-hes-9277056

• "Here’s a Weird New Discovery About Pedophiles", Jesse Singal, Science of Us (Nov 23, 2016) — http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/11/heres-a-new-discovery-about-pedophiles.html

• "Can Programs Like "Help Wanted" Prevent Child Sexual Abuse?", Elizabeth Letourneau, Psychology Today (Dec 12, 2016) — https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prevention-now/201612/can-programs-help-wanted-prevent-child-sexual-abuse

2017

• "'Comfortably out' paedophile says he chooses not to act on his urges but fantasises about children", Jon Sharman, The Independent (Jan 7, 2017) — http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/gary-gibson-comfortably-out-paedophile-urges-mental-health-tabitha-abel-a7514746.html

• "Who is Gary Gibson and what is a ‘virtuous paedophile’?", Maryse Godden, The Sun (Jan 11, 2017) — https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2587878/gary-gibson-virtuous-paedophile-christian-anti-pornography/

• "Paedophiles need help, not condemnation – I should know", BBC Three (Feb 10, 2017) — http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/3216b48d-3195-4f67-8149-54586689ae3c

• "British wife of ‘virtuous paedophile’ who is attracted to girls as young as SIX still loves him and plans to stick by him", Tom Gillespie, The Sun (Feb 15, 2017) — https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2548631/british-wife-of-virtuous-paedophile-who-is-attracted-to-girls-as-young-as-six-still-loves-him-and-says-he-has-a-mental-health-issue/

• "We need to talk about pedophiles", Jim Brown, CBC Radio (Feb 19, 2017) — http://www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/sometimes-it-s-ok-to-drop-civility-rewriting-historic-road-signs-and-understanding-pedophiles-1.3986807/we-need-to-talk-about-pedophiles-1.3986933

• "Salon Shouldn’t Have Unpublished Its Article by a Pedophile Author", Jesse Singal, Science of Us (Feb 22, 2017) — http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2017/02/salon-shouldnt-have-unpublished-its-pedophilia-article.html

• "To stop paedophiles, we need to help them. But no one wants to hear that", Deborah Orr, The Guardian (Feb 28, 2017) — https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/28/not-jailing-paedophiles-protecting-children-crisis-care?CMP=share_btn_tw

• "To prevent child sex abuse, paedophilia needs to recognised as mental disorder", RN Bhaskar, The Free Press Journal (Mar 8, 2017) — http://www.freepressjournal.in/interviews/to-prevent-child-sex-abuse-paedophilia-needs-to-recognised-as-mental-disorder/1030860

• "Paedophilia is 'fate, not a choice', leading scientist claims", Tom Embury-Dennis, The Independent (Mar 14, 2017) — http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/paedophilia-causes-not-a-choice-fate-claims-leading-scientist-a7629786.html

• "Paedophilia is a fate and not a choice, German doctor says", Divya Chandrababu, The Times of India (Mar 14, 2017) — http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/paedophilia-is-a-fate-and-not-a-choice-german-doctor-says/articleshow/57619901.cms

• "The Unjust, Irrational, and Unconstitutional Consequences of Pedophilia Panic", Jacob Sullum, Reason (Mar 15, 2017) — https://reason.com/archives/2017/03/15/sex-and-kids

• "Child Sex Dolls Are Horrifying — But Some Say They Prevent Abuse", Tracy Clark-Flory, Vocativ (Mar 16, 2017) — http://www.vocativ.com/411779/child-sex-dolls-abuse/

• "Challenging societal negativity towards paedophiles", Craig Harper and Ross Bartels, NextGenForensic (Mar 26, 2017) — https://nextgenforensic.wordpress.com/2017/03/26/challenging-societal-negativity-towards-paedophiles/

• "An Uncomfortable Truth Under Scope: What Causes Pedophilia?", Mr. Peppermint, Onedio (Apr 24, 2017) — http://onedio.co/content/an-uncomfortable-truth-under-scope-what-causes-pedophilia-15951

• "My grown up son just told me he is sexually attracted to children", Dr. Sarah Goode, NetDoctor (Jun 8, 2017) — http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/sexual-health/a28334/paedophile-family/

• "Shocking study shows just half of those who watch child porn are paedophiles", Jon Rogers and Monical Pallenberg, Express (Jul 10, 2017) — http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/826985/Child-pornography-study-paedophiles-Jens-Wagner-research-Elysium

• “Two paedophiles speak: What it’s like to be born in a body with a “cursed” mind.”, Michelle Andrews, Mamamia (Sep 2, 2017) — http://www.mamamia.com.au/non-offending-paedophiles/

• "The young paedophiles who say they don’t abuse children", Catherine Burns, BBC (Sep 11, 2017) — http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41213657

• "What it's like to be a paedophile", Kelan Mahon, The Overtake (Dec 7, 2017) — https://theovertake.com/~alpha/being-a-paedophile/

2018

• "Is attraction to an age group another kind of sexual orientation?", Michael C. Seto, The Conversation (Jan 23, 2018) — http://theconversation.com/is-attraction-to-an-age-group-another-kind-of-sexual-orientation-88074

• "Online Support Groups Can Keep Pedophiles From Offending but They Keep Getting Shut Down", Katie Herzog, The Stranger (Jul 20, 2018) — https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/07/20/29453977/online-support-groups-can-keep-pedophiles-from-offending-but-they-keep-getting-shut-down

#Resources

• "Pedophilia and sexual offending against children: Theory, assessment, and intervention.", Seto, M (2008) — https://www.amazon.com/Pedophilia-Sexual-Offending-Against-Children/dp/1433801140/

• "Understanding and Addressing Adult Sexual Attraction to Children", Goode, S. (2009) — https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Addressing-sexual-Attraction-Children/dp/0415446260/

• "Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis", Kenneth V. Lanning (2010) — http://www.missingkids.com/publications/NC70

• "The Trauma Myth: The Truth About the Sexual Abuse of Children and Its Aftermath", Clancy, S. (2011) — https://www.amazon.com/Trauma-Myth-Sexual-Children-Aftermath/dp/0465022111/

• "Pedophiles in Society", Goode, S. (2011) — https://www.amazon.com/Paedophiles-Society-Reflecting-Sexuality-Abuse/dp/023027188X/

• "Rehabilitating Sexual Offenders: A Strength-Based Approach", William L. Marshall (2011) — http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4317257.aspx

• "Internet Sex Offenders", Seto, M. (2013) — https://www.amazon.com/Internet-Sex-Offenders-Michael-Seto/dp/1433813645/

• "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5)", American Psychiatric Association (2013)

• "Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us", Bering, J. (2014) — https://www.amazon.com/Perv-Sexual-Deviant-All-Us/dp/0374534837/

• "Terminology Guidelines for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse", Susanna Greijer and Jaap Doek (2016) — http://luxembourgguidelines.org/english-version/

• "Virtuous Pedophiles", Gary Gibson (2018) — https://www.amazon.com/Virtuous-Pedophiles-Gary-Gibson/dp/1979937184/

• "Past the Dark Field", Sheila van den Heuvel-Collins (2019) — https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07N46VW5K

#Resources

• “Brain Research and Pedophilia What it Means for Assessment Treatment and Policy”, with Michael C. Seto and James Cantor (2011) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IZxcdskmUs

• “Outing”, Documentary (Trailer) (Apr 27, 2012) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNk8BbhhvDE

• “Living with pedophilia”, interview with Max Weber from VirPed (May 25, 2013) — http://www.dw.com/en/living-with-pedophilia/av-16834852

• “Mysteries of the Mind: The Pedophile's Brain (HD)”, with James Cantor (Jan 21, 2014) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB6zwvBtDK8

• “Tarred and Feathered”, This American Life podcast, interview with Adam (Apr 11, 2014) — https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/522/tarred-and-feathered?act=2

• “Cyberbullies, Mass Media and Pedophiles”, radio program featuring Luke Malone (0:33:00) (Jun 16, 2014) — https://beta.prx.org/stories/121818

• “Born that way?”, CBC Radio program featuring James Cantor and Paul Fedoroff (Sep 4, 2014) — http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/born-that-way-1.2914061

• “Exploring Options to Help Pedophiles”, radio interview with Gary Gibson (Sep 17, 2014) — http://www.opb.org/radio/programs/thinkoutloud/segment/exploring-options-to-help-pedophiles/

• “The Paedophile Next Door”, UK documentary (Nov 25, 2014) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft9QKPku6ho

• “Daniel's World”, Czech documentary (Trailer) (Feb 19, 2015) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reJUWSHwgwc

• “Pedophilia: Myths, Realities and Treatments”, with Fred Berlin (Mar 12, 2015) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgGaUEPBI38

• “Lived Experiences of Young Adults Attracted to Minors”, panel discussion at the Moore Center 2015 Symposium with Luke Malone and two VirPed members (Jun 5, 2015) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E9EzC69yPY

• “The Nature of Paedophilia”, BBC Radio (Jul 13, 2015) — http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b061qhtc

• “Dr. Drew talks to author of controversial pedophile essay”, interview with Todd Nickerson (Sep 23, 2015) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOWU6q_Fa4s

• “Pedophilia with Psychological Assessment, Incorporated”, by Security Guy Radio (Dec 2, 2015) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5HRPWOr9jg

• “Our Little Secret”, Matthewswood Entertainment Documentary (Feb 7, 2017) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_wliq-KRc0

• “I, Pedophile”, CBC documentary (Mar 2016) — https://d.pr/1d0Pq/EHZH9704igel

• “How do we protect out children from the unspeakable?”, TEDx Talk with Luke Broomhall (Apr 1, 2016) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJaanSlb08A

• “Joe Rogan on pedophilia”, a discussion of pedophilia on Joe Rogan's show (May 22, 2016) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMSo7yHK5Ek

• “The Science of Pedophilia”, Sickboy Podcast with James Cantor (5 Jun, 2016) — http://sickboypodcast.com/episodes/2016/6/5/sickboy-pedophilia

• “Episode #44 -Todd Nickerson”, interview with Todd Nickerson in The Dark Room Podcast (Aug 15, 2016) — http://thedarkroom.podbean.com/e/episode-44-todd-nickerson/

• “I am Attracted to Children”, documentary on Calatonian TV3 (w/ English subtitles) (Nov 13, 2016) — http://www.ccma.cat/tv3/alacarta/30-minuts/i-am-attracted-to-children/video/5658988/

• “Inside the Life of a Virtuous Peodphile”, with Todd Nickerson (Nov 16, 2016) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-Fx6P7d21o

• “Supoz Interviews A Pedophile (Are Pedophiles Bad People?)”, with Ender Wiggin (Dec 16, 2016) —

• “To MAP Humanity”, with Todd Nickerson (Jan 6, 2017) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj3z6iLsz3M

• “Who are “Virtuous Pedophiles”, with Gary Gibson (Jan 11, 2017) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv3UtKg5Ics

• “I'm Standing by My 'Paedophile' Husband”, with Tabitha Abel (Gary Gibson's wife) (Jan 11, 2017) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iqxZ0LubAQ

• “My Husband Is Attracted To Little Girls But I’m Standing By Him”, Dr Phil Show with Gary Gibson (Jan 23, 2017) — https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ce3lo

• “Why Pedophilia and Child Abuse Aren't the Same Thing”, with Craigh Harper (Feb 11, 2017) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOly6yAbjAo

• “We need to talk about pedophiles”, Jim Brown, CBC Radio (Feb 19, 2017) — http://www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/sometimes-it-s-ok-to-drop-civility-rewriting-historic-road-signs-and-understanding-pedophiles-1.3986807/we-need-to-talk-about-pedophiles-1.3986933

• “When Sexual Desires Become Dangerous w/ Dr. James Cantor”, Turn Me On podcast (00:23:00) (Apr 26, 2017) — http://turnmeon.libsyn.com/12-when-sexual-desires-become-dangerous-w-dr-james-cantor

• “The Man Who Dares to Bring Science & Humanity to the World of 'Monsters'”, interview with James Cantor (Jun 18, 2017) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbTaXT5MAZ8

• “Why pedophiles are different from child molesters (Dr Eve explains)”, The Eusebius McKaiser Show (Jun 23, 2017) — http://www.702.co.za/articles/261647/why-pedophiles-are-different-from-child-molesters-dr-eve-explains

• “DSM & Pedophilia — Strange Bedfellows”, interview with James Cantor (Jun 30, 2017) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7qVoYTJL80

• “The young paedophiles who say they don’t abuse children”, BBC (Sep 11, 2017) — http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05frj6s

• “Child sexual abuse is preventable, not inevitable”, Elizabeth Letourneau, TEDMED (Sep 12, 2017) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2iV3Gf0lVA

• “Interview with a Female Anti-Contact Pedophile named 'Emma'”, The Prevention Podcast (Jan 1, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/interview-with-female-anti-contact-pedophile-emma

• “Interview with Anti-Contact Pedophile 'Ender'”, The Prevention Podcast (Jan 15, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/interview-with-anti-contact-pedophile-ender

• “Interview with Anti-Contact Pedophile 'Bruce'”, The Prevention Podcast (Jan 29, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/bruce

• “Interview with Dr. Allyson Walker’s to Discuss their MAP Resiliency research”, The Prevention Podcast (Feb 12, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/interview-with-dr-allyson-walkers-to-discuss-her-map-resiliency

• “Treating Pedophilia”, Psychology in Seattle, with Kate Stewart from Modern Therapy Seattle (Feb 19, 2018) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY93Anqrd-w

• “Interview with a Millennial Anti-Contact Pedophile: 'Dillon'”, The Prevention Podcast (Feb 26, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/interviewing-a-millennial-anti-contact-pedophile-dillon

• “Interview with 'Conservative' Pedophile: 'Bertus'”, The Prevention Podcast (Mar 12, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/interview-with-conservative-pedophile-bertus

• “Interview with the bold and brave MAPs activist Todd Nickerson”, The Prevention Podcast (Mar 26, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/interview-with-todd-nickerson

• “Interview with 'Ayden'”, The Prevention Podcast (Apr 9, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/ayden

• “Pedophilia Explained”, The Science of Sex Podcast, with James Cantor (Apr 11, 2018) — https://soundcloud.com/user-252312803/26-pedophilia-explained

• “Let’s be mature about pedophilia”, Madeleine van der Bruggen, TEDx Sittard Geleen (Apr 13, 2018) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egiBgmvv8wA

• ”Interview with anti-contact female pedophile ‘Beth’”, The Prevention Podcast (Apr 23, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/interview-with-anti-contact-female-pedophile-beth

• “Is there such a thing as a 'Virtuous Pedophile'?”, The Feed (May 2, 2018) — https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-virtuous-paedophile

• “Interview with Anti-Contact Pedophile 'Jakob'”, The Prevention Podcast (May 7, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/interview-with-jakob

• “Bringing a Voice to the Voiceless”, The Prevention Podcast (May 21, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/bringing-a-voice-to-the-voiceless

• “New Child Protection Organization that is 'Outside the Box'”, The Prevention Podcast (June 4, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/new-child-protection-organization-that-is-outside-the-box

• “Why our perception of pedophilia has to change”, Mirjam Heine, TEDx University of Würzburg (June 11, 2018) — https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lR61nKdJz7tZX3trSf7WsL_N6t-auZKX/view?usp=drivesdk

• “Married to a MAP”, The Prevention Podcast (June 18, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/married-to-a-map

• “Interview with StopItNow.org's Jenny Coleman and Micah Waxman”, The Prevention Podcast (July 2, 2017) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/stop-it-now

• “Interview with an Asexual MAP”, The Prevention Podcast (July 16, 2018) — http://thepreventionpodcast.com/interview-with-an-asexual-map

• “Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivor Interviews a Pedophile – Part 1 of 3”, Living Beyond Abuse (Sep 1, 2018) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKej_r4Ldpk

• “Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivor Interviews a Pedophile – Part 2 of 3”, Living Beyond Abuse (Sep 2, 2018) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMcHlGwjFTk

• "The truth about paedophilia", The Signal, ABC (May 13, 2019) — https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/the-signal/the-truth-about-paedophilia/11044488

• "Can you fix a paedophile?", The Signal, ABC (May 15, 2019) — https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/the-signal/can-you-fix-a-paedophile/11113042

• "Vihattu mies/Hated Man", Helsingin Sanomat (August 8, 2021 — https://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/art-2000008214068.html English translation

#Resources

Below is an extensive list of research studies on minor attraction and related topics.

Please bear in mind that many of these studies have limitations that impact the reliability and generalizability of their findings. Interpret research carefully and critically by considering the study design, the strength of evidence provided by the design, whether the sample in the study is representative, and whether the results are statistically significant. Please view this article for a comprehensive guide to interpreting research: https://blog.mapsupport.club/2306q2z49h.

Most of these articles can be accessed on Sci-Hub, a pirating website for academic literature.

2021

  • Characteristics of the users of Troubled Desire, a web-based self-management app for individuals with sexual interest in children: Descriptive analysis of self-assessment data. Schuler, M., Gieseler, H., Schweder, K. W., von Heyden, M., & Beier, K. M. (2021). https://doi.org/10.2196/22277.

  • “I would report it even if they have not committed anything”: Social service students’ attitudes toward minor-attracted people. Walker, A., Butters, B. P., & Nichols, E. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063221993480.

  • Idiopathic and acquired pedophilia as two distinct disorders: an insight from neuroimaging. Scarpazza, C., Finos, L., Genon, S., Masiero, L., Bortolato, E., Cavaliere, C., Pezzaioli, J., Monaro, M., Navarin, N., Battaglia, U., Pietrini, P., Ferracuti, S., Sartori, G., & Camperio Ciani, A. S. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-020-00442-z.

  • The concept of paedophilia. Part 1 : Historical background and nosology. Leistedt, S., Thibaut, F. (2021). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33682389.

2020

2019

2018

  • Can Pedophiles Change? Cantor, J.M. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-018-0165-2.

  • Clinical characteristics associated with paedophilia and child sex offending – Differentiating sexual preference from offence status. Gerwinn, H., Weiß, S., Tenbergen, G., Amelung, T., Födisch, C., Pohl, A., Massau, C., Kneer, J., Mohnke, S., Kärgel, C., Wittfoth, M., Jung, S., Drumkova, K., Schiltz, K., Walter, M., Beier, K. M., Walter, H., Ponseti, J., Schiffer, B., & Kruger, T. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.02.002.

  • “I can’t talk about that”: Stigma and fear as barriers to preventive services for minor-attracted persons. Grady, M. D., Levenson, J. S., Mesias, G., Kavanagh, S., & Charles, J. (2019). https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000154.

  • Is contact with children related to legitimizing beliefs toward sex with children among men with pedophilia? Geradt, M., Jahnke, S., & Heinz, J. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-1042-1.

  • More on age of onset of attractions and sexual development in pedohebephilic individuals: Response to Tozdan and Briken (2018). McPhail, I. V. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-018-1302-8.

  • The sigma of pedophilia: Clinical and forensic implications. Jahnke, S. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000325.

2017

  • Behaviour and characteristics of perpetrators of online-facilitated child sexual abuse and exploitation: A rapid evidence assessment. DeMarco, J., Sharrock, S., Crowther, T., & Barnard, M. (2017). https://www.basw.co.uk/system/files/resources/basw_64920-4.pdf.

  • Born this way? A qualitative examination of public perceptions of the causes of pedophilia and sexual offending against children. Richards, K. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2017.1335526.

  • Evidence for superior neurobiological and behavioral inhibitory control abilities in non-offending as compared to offending pedophiles. Kärgel, C., Massau, C., Weiß, S., Walter, M., Borchardt, V., Krueger, T. H., Tenbergen, G., Kneer, J., Wittfoth, M., Pohl, A., Gerwinn, H., Ponseti, J., Amelung, T., Beier, K. M., Mohnke, S., Walter, H., & Schiffer, B. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23443.

  • Executive functioning in pedophilia and child sexual offending. Massau, C., Tenbergen, G., Kärgel, C., Weiß, S., Gerwinn, H., Pohl, A., Amelung, T., Mohnke, S., Kneer, J., Wittfoth, M., Ristow, I., Schiltz, K., Beier, K. M., Ponseti, J., Walter, M., Kruger, T. H. C., Walter, H., & Schiffer, B. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617717000315.

  • Gray matter anomalies in pedophiles with and without a history of child sexual offending. Schiffer, B., Amelung, T., Pohl, A., Kaergel, C., Tenbergen, G., Gerwinn, H., Mohnke, S., Massau, C., Matthias, W., Weiß, S., Marr, V., Beier, K. M., Walter, M., Ponseti, J., Krüger, T., Schiltz, K., & Walter, H. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2017.96.

  • Looking beyond the screen: A critical review of the literature on the online child pornography offender. Henshaw, M., Ogloff, J. R. P., & Clough, J. A. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063215603690.

  • Minor attraction: A queer criminological issue. Walker, A. & Panfil, V.R. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-016-9342-7.

  • Orienting basic research on chronophilias. Bailey, J. M. & Hsu, K. J. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0885-1.

  • The puzzle of male chronophilias. Seto, M. C. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0799-y.

2016

2015

2014

2013

  • Evidence for heritability of adult men's sexual interest in youth under age 16 from a population‐based extended twin design. Alanko, K., Salo, B., Mokros, A., & Santtila, P. (2013). https://doi.org/10.1111/jsm.12067.

  • Navigating the stigma of pedophilia: The experiences of nine minor-attracted men in Canada. Freimond, C. M. (2013). https://summit.sfu.ca/item/13798.

  • Response inhibition in pedophilia: an FMRI pilot study. Habermeyer, B., Esposito, F., Händel, N., Lemoine, P., Kuhl, H. C., Klarhöfer, M., Mager, R., Mokros, A., Dittmann, V., Seifritz, E., & Graf, M. (2013). https://doi.org/10.1159/000355295.

2012

2011

2010

2009

  • Can pedophiles be reached for primary prevention of child sexual abuse? First results of the Berlin Prevention Project Dunkelfeld (PPD). Beier, K. M., Ahlers, C. J., Goecker, D., Neutze, J., Mundt, I. A., Hupp, E., & Schaefer, G. A. (2009). https://doi.org/10.1080/14789940903174188.

2008

2007

  • Cerebral white matter deficiencies in pedophilic men. Cantor, J., Kabani, N., Christensen, B., Zipursky, R., Barbaree, H., Dickey, R., Klassen, P., Mikulis, D., Kuban, M., Blak, T., Richards, B., Hanratty, K., & Blanchard, R. (2007). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2007.10.013.

  • Physical height in pedophilic and hebephilic sexual offenders. Cantor, J. M., Kuban, M. E., Blak, T., Klassen, P. E., Dickey, R., & Blanchard, R. (2007). https://doi.org/10.1177/107906320701900405.

2006

2005

  • Handedness in pedophilia and hebephilia. Cantor, J. M., Klassen, P. E., Dickey, R., Christensen, B. K., Kuban, M. E., Blak, T., Williams, N. S., & Blanchard, R. (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-005-4344-7.

2004

  • Intelligence, memory, and handedness in pedophilia. Cantor, J. M., Blanchard, R., Christensen, B. K., Dickey, R., Klassen, P. E., Beckstead, A. L., Blak, T., & Kuban, M. E. (2004). https://doi.org/10.1037/0894-4105.18.1.3.

2003

  • Self-reported head injuries before and after age 13 in pedophilic and nonpedophilic men referred for clinical assessment. Blanchard, R., Kuban, M. E., Klassen, P., Dickey, R., Christensen, B. K., Cantor, J. M., & Blak, T. (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026093612434.

2002

  • Retrospective self-reports of childhood accidents causing unconsciousness in phallometrically diagnosed pedophiles. Blanchard, R., Christensen, B. K., Strong, S. M., Cantor, J. M., Kuban, M. E., Klassen, P., Dickey, R., & Blak, T. (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1020659331965.

2001

#Resources

Only you are responsible for safeguarding your identity from being revealed to the wrong parties. Nobody can meaningfully tell you what safeguards you need in place for your specific situation without a lengthy information-gathering conversation and technical expertise in security and privacy. This blog post is a starting point – not an end-all guide to guaranteeing anonymity on the internet. There are ways to make de-anonymizing you extremely difficult, but they are not guarantees.

Basics of Digital Privacy

The basics of digital privacy applications for the uninitiated. These three suggestions are not foolproof, but they do give you a great start.

  1. Use a secure device, by which I mean an iOS or Linux device. While you can use Windows and Android, you should be aware that both of these operating systems are very invasive to privacy and you're basically guaranteeing that Microsoft and/or Google will likely store your activities/interests.

  2. Use a secure browser, and no, I don't mean Chrome (it sucks). I mean Tor or Mozilla Firefox, perhaps Brave if you'd like. If you're using Firefox, there are several add-ons you will want to add: Ublock Origin, NoScript, Decentraleyes, Canvas Blocker, and Firefox Containers are a good starting point. If you're on mobile, using a privacy browser that automatically removes your browsing history like Firefox Focus may be a good idea. DuckDuckGo is also a good app or browser to mention.

  3. Ensure you're using an HTTPS connection at the very least. Using encrypted DNS is better, especially if you can add it to your router or your browser. Using a VPN is discussed below, but may or may not be a good idea depending on your circumstances.

These are best practices for MAP communities in general.

  1. Do not use your real name as your username or as part of your username. If you are currently using your real name, we strongly suggest that you change it as soon as possible.

  2. Do not use an email address tied to your real identity for your social media or MAP-related accounts. Obtaining a “burner” email address from a variety of providers is free and easy. Such providers include Protonmail, Tutanota, GMX, Hushmail and others.

  3. Do not use a nickname that you use elsewhere on the internet that is tied to your real identity. Minor attracted people have been outed by vigilantes in the past because of this reason. If you are currently using a nickname that you use in other non-related sites and is linked to your real identity, we strongly suggest that you change it as soon as possible.

  4. Do not share your real name, location or any other information that could potentially lead to identifying you publicly in group chats or publicly (this includes pictures of yourself or your surroundings). Remember that anyone can pretend to be who they're not, so always use caution before revealing this kind of information to anyone, even in direct messages. There has been an instance in which someone operated in the MAP community for roughly 4 years before it was known they weren't who they claimed to be.

  5. Respect others' anonymity. If you know other users by other names (real or not) from other sites or communities on the internet, do not assume everyone else knows them too. Always refer to them by the name they use in this community, and ask others to do that same with you.

  6. Never click links, particularly shortened URLs, sent to you by people you don't trust. Some of these shortened links may be an attempt to log your IP address or download malware to your system, and can be disguised as appearing to look like YouTube links, etc. The same principle applies to email links and email attachments. If in doubt at all, check the URL via a link expander.

  7. Be aware of what social engineering attacks are and how they can manifest. Know that there are phishing technologies that can very convincingly mimic a login page and gather your login information. Know that people can claim to be someone they aren't, and try to get information out of you. Know that despite many rules about confidentiality, nobody in any MAP community is going to be mad at you for privately inquiring about the legitimacy of any person or organization you're dealing with.

How to Stay Secure

Security is very different from privacy and anonymity, though there is some overlap.

  1. Know what hacking is, and how you can prevent it.

  2. Keep your passwords safe and random: Use a password manager, and use a different password for each account you have. Many free programs to manage passwords exist. I recommend: https://keepass.info Keepass has free open-source software for most operating systems, and has integration for Android and Apple devices as well as the capability of running entirely from a flash drive. There are others, such as Bitwarden, which rely on an online account. Why? If someone compromises your password on any account, the first thing they will try is using that combination on other common sites. Using a unique password for each site mitigates any one password putting the rest at risk.

  3. Know what your privacy options are to avoid large companies from tracking you, your browsing habits, and your activities. This website has more information about a variety of technologies and recommended software, from browsers to VPN's.

  4. Don't treat VPN's as an end-all anonymity tool. They're not, they have limitations depending on which VPN you're using, and there is legislation all over the world in different countries/localities that can impact how anonymous you are when using a VPN. Know that in most cases, your internet service provider can still see the IP address when you're on a VPN, even if it's not the one assigned to you by your router.

For the Paranoid

Similar to the previous section about security, it is your job to maintain good technology practices. Professionally, these practices are known as opsec, short for operational security, and infosec, short for informational security. This is a very simple overview of both.

Opsec is about ensuring you are technologically able to continue doing whatever it is you do. In the context of myself, since I am an advocate, this means having backup platforms with which I can do advocacy work in case one of them fails, or blocking people, or having multiple lines of communication available for people. Opsec does have some overlap with infosec.

Infosec is about ensuring the security of your information so that your data does not fall into the wrong hands. This includes things from the above section: Using a password manager, know what hacking is and how to prevent it, but it also includes things like deleting information so that it cannot be obtained later and choosing the services you use wisely. It also means guarding what information you do and do not share.

For those who are very serious (or paranoid) about their technology, I would recommend looking further into these two areas. There IS NOT a one-size-fits-all approach to either opsec or infosec. It is unique to you, what kind of attention you do or do not call to your online activities, and what your goals are.

Security practices can keep you safe, but they can also signal to a potential attacker that there is something you are trying to keep safe. The key to a good security plan is to balance out what your practices look like on the frontend. It is your job to find this balance for yourself and use the available tools here and elsewhere to make a plan and set goals that work for your situation.

#Resources