We work with people who have viewed child sexual abuse material online or engaged in sexual conversations online with children. The reason is simple – to protect the children they could abuse in the future.
This problem cannot be tackled by law enforcement alone. We need to work with people who are causing harm, or who are at risk of doing so, and help them to stop.
We have many services and projects designed to prevent people from offending. One of these is our Get Help callbacks. People worried about their thoughts and behaviour towards children can speak anonymously over the phone with us, while they work through our online self-help Get Help modules.
We conducted a study to learn more about how and why our self-help prevention works
Our research team are always looking for new ways of understanding the impact of our work. To find out more about how well our online support works we conducted a unique study to explore the “acceptability” of Get Help. We’ve published our findings, to help others in our field design and deliver effective self-help programmes.
We interviewed eight men who had completed the Get Help modules and call-backs. We used the concept of “acceptability”. This term explores various questions. Do users feel the service “makes sense”? Is it easy, and effective, and does it align with their values? What barriers must they overcome to complete the modules and callbacks?
The research has informed our Get Help service
Participants told us that the modules and callbacks helped them stop viewing sexual images of children, and the callbacks held them accountable.
"There is no question that finding someone to be accountable to has been really, really important."
Whilst they experienced difficult emotions such as shame, and found some of the modules highly challenging, Get Help provided a better understanding of their feelings. They left more hopeful about their future – critical to changing behaviour.
"It’s made me feel that I will be able to manage going forward because I understand the things that could lead to me going back to the offending behaviour and I know how to recognise it, and what to do about them.”
The research also showed us practical ways to improve Get Help. Some users weren’t sure which order to complete the modules in, or how long to spend on each. Technical issues made the modules difficult to navigate. Although the website with the modules and the Get Help call-backs is fully anonymous, some were concerned about anonymity or being tracked.
We used these insights to improve both the Get Help modules, and the advice we give on our Stop It Now helpline.
- We encourage people to work through the modules at whatever pace works for them and call the helpline if they have questions.
- We have added a new wellbeing and self-care section. We advise people to complete this first, before the more hard-hitting modules.
- We highlight the anonymity of our services on the website. We let everyone who calls the helpline know they can stay anonymous.
- We’ve redesigned our website to make navigation through the modules easier.
What do these findings mean for preventing child sexual abuse?
Self-help programmes such as Get Help can help people to not engage in illegal online behaviours. They should, however, be easily accessible and anonymous to use, and they should offer professional support to help users work through the material.
The service’s online and self-guided nature means that the threshold is low—it’s easy and accessible. Through the study, we found that while online self-help can help people stop their illegal behaviour, support from practitioners may improve outcomes. It may make it more likely that the behaviour stops and stays stopped.
What's next for our research?
We’re proud to say that our acceptability study has been published in Sexual Offending, Theory, Research and Prevention.
Building on this study, we’re working with world-leading prevention experts to deliver two comprehensive evaluations of our Stop It Now helpline and Get Help, as part of a large-scale evaluation project. We’ll also be expanding our research and evaluation work under the stewardship of our new Director of Research and Impact, Dr Tom Fisher.
Find out more and get help
Free self-help Get Help modules are available on our website to support anyone to stop viewing indecent images of children or engaging in sexual communications with children online.
The free anonymous and confidential Stop It Now helpline, email, and chat services are available for anyone concerned about their own or someone else’s sexual thoughts or behaviour towards children. You can remain anonymous. We help thousands of people every year take decisive action to protect children from sexual abuse.
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