The Prevention Project Dunkelfeld (PPD) is an effort founded in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to provide clinical and support services to people who are sexually attracted to children ( pedophiles and hebephiles) and want help controlling their sexual urges, but are otherwise unknown to the legal authorities. The term ''Dunkelfeld'' is German for

dark figure of crime First coined by Belgian sociologist and criminologist Adolphe Quetelet in the 19th century, the dark figure of crime, hidden figure of crime, or latent criminality is the amount of unreported, undetected, or undiscovered crime, and is a central ...

. It was named that way because its goal is to reduce the amount of unknown cases of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

. The project began in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in June 2005 with a large media campaign to contact pedophiles and hebephiles who wanted help from clinicians to manage their paraphilia. The campaign pledged medically confidential treatment free-of-charge. It was initially funded by the

Volkswagen Foundation The Volkswagen Foundation (German: ''VolkswagenStiftung'') is the largest German private nonprofit organization involved in the promotion and support of academic research. It is not affiliated to the present company, the Volkswagen Group. It wa ...

, and has been financially supported by the German government since 2008. The project's slogan is "You are not guilty because of your sexual desire, but you are responsible for your sexual behavior. There is help! Don't become an offender!" By 2010 a total of 1,134 people had responded. Of those 499 had a completed diagnosis, and 255 had been offered a place in therapy. More than half had previously attempted to find therapy without success. The therapy offered has three main components. Patients are encouraged to accept the fact that they have such sexual inclinations, integrate it into their

self-concept In the psychology of self, one's self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity, self-perspective or self-structure) is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question ''"Who am I? ...

, and involve relatives or partners in the therapeutic process.

Cognitive behaviour therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on challenging and changi ...

is used to improve coping skills, stress management, and sexual attitudes. Drugs that reduce general sex drive, such as

serotonin reuptake inhibitor A serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) is a type of drug which acts as a reuptake inhibitor of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT) by blocking the drug action, action of the serotonin transporter (SERT). This in turn lea ...

s and

anti-androgen Antiandrogens, also known as androgen antagonists or testosterone blockers, are a class of drugs that prevent androgens like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) from mediating their biological effects in the body. They act by blocking t ...

s, may also be offered. The PPD and those who join the organization have been the subject of several research studies.Beier, K. M., Neutze, J., Mundt, I. A., Ahlers, C. J., Goecker, D., Konrad, A., & Schaefer, G. A. (2009). "Encouraging self-identified pedophiles and hebephiles to seek professional help: First results of the Prevention Project Dunkelfeld". ''Child Abuse & Neglect'', 33, 545–549. .Neutrz, J., Seto, M. C., Schaefer, G. A., Mundt, I. A., Beier, K. M. (2011). "Predictors of child pornography offences and child sexual abuse in a community sample of pedophiles and hebephiles". ''Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment'', 23, 212–242.

References

External links

Prevention Project Dunkelfeld website (German)

Prevention Project Dunkelfeld website (English)
{{Pedophilia Crime prevention Pedophilia Child sexual abuse in Germany Sexology Healthcare in Germany

See also

References

External links