We would like to ask you if you are interested in participating in a research project. This document provides information about the project and what it entails to take part.
Study Title: Evaluation of an Online Self-Help Program for CSAM
Principal Investigator:
Carissa Augustyn, PhD
Adjunct Scientist, Forensic Research Unit
University of Ottawa’s Institute of Mental Health at the Royal
Carissa.Augustyn@theroyal.ca
Co-Investigator:
Michael Seto, PhD
Director, Forensic Research Unit,
University of Ottawa’s Institute of Mental Health at The Royal
Michael.Seto@theroyal.ca
Study’s Funder: Oak Foundation
REB Number: 0246
INFORMATION FOR POTENTIAL RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
You are being invited to participate in a research project. This document provides you with information to help you make an informed choice. Please read this document carefully and ask any questions you may have. All your questions should be answered to your satisfaction before you decide if you want to participate in this research study.
WHAT IS THE STUDY AND IS IT RIGHT FOR ME?
There is a great need for more knowledge to support individuals who are concerned about their use or urges to use Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). CSAM is sometimes referred to as child pornography. It includes images, videos, live-streaming, and any other material that depicts sexual acts with a child or adolescent (i.e., a person under the age of 18). It also includes material that shows a child or adolescent in a sexually suggestive or explicit manner partially clothed, or nude, and can include material that does or does not illustrate sexual activity.
This study evaluates an anonymous online self-help psychological intervention, ReDirection. The ReDirection program is based in Finland and was developed by psychologists. It is designed to help people who are concerned about their use or urges to use CSAM.
You are being asked to participate in this study because you are concerned about your use or urges to use CSAM, want help with this, and have shown interest in participating in the study.
You are eligible to participate in this study if: you are 18 years or older; you can read and write in English or Spanish; you have used CSAM in the last six months OR you have experienced urges (also defined as impulses, desires, compulsions, cravings) to use CSAM within the last six months.
HOW DOES THE STUDY WORK?
This study evaluates two versions of ReDirection, an anonymous online self-help intervention for people concerned about their use and urges to use CSAM. As a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based program, ReDirection aims to support you to take control of your emotions, thoughts and behaviour in order to ‘ReDirect’ you away from using CSAM.
As a first step, you will receive information about the research project (this document) and will be able to give your consent to participate. If you choose to participate, your eligibility will be confirmed and you will be asked to complete a survey (called a pre-treatment questionnaire) that asks about sexuality, mental health, attitudes and beliefs, social situations, and previous convictions, if applicable. The approximate time to complete this is 30-40 minutes.
Once this survey is completed, you will be randomly offered one of the two versions of ReDirection, or to be placed on a waitlist before being able to join an intervention. We cannot influence which intervention you are offered. The waitlist will last six weeks. A waitlist is an important part of this study because it allows us to thoroughly test the interventions. While on the waitlist, participants will be asked to answer questions about sexual urges and behaviours they have. These are expected to take 2-3 minutes to complete.
The ReDirection program lasts five-to-six week. During the program, you will work through program modules, each containing information and exercises that you complete independently. It takes approximately one hour per week to work through each module. A new module is provided weekly. During the program, you will be asked to answer questions about sexual urges and behaviours and mental health. These are expected to take 3-8 minutes to complete.
After completing the program, participants are asked to fill out an additional survey as a post-treatment questionnaire. It asks similar questions to the other questionnaires completed in the study. The estimated time for this is about 25 minutes. Participants will also be asked to complete a brief, follow-up survey two weeks after completing the program. This will take approximately 7-10 minutes to complete. At this point, participation is complete.
The total time required to complete the ReDirection program and study is approximately 7-8 hours.
Other information related to participation in this research project:
The program and completion of study questionnaires is all done within a secure and anonymous platform that has been previously used to evaluate similar programs (e.g., for CSAM use and sexual interest in children).
Your participation is completely anonymous, and we will not ask you for information that can identify you. To further safeguard your anonymity, the platform is also accessible via Tor browser and can be accessed without enabling JavaScript (please note: the JavaScript code used on the website is internal, used only for improving the visual functionality, and having JavaScript activated improves the user experience).
You will need a computer or smartphone and to create a log-in on the research project’s platform using an e-mail address. This is to be able to reach participants by email to remind them to take the next step in the program and to be able to help participants with password resets, should they lose their password. We encourage you to use an anonymous e-mail address that is only used for this study. https://proton.me/ offers a free, encrypted e-mail service that is compatible with Tor.
Taking part in this study is voluntary, free of charge, and you will not be paid for completing this study.
Onion link to the platform: https://6wvybf7ub3xk5ow66wt7os3aovbzoo2eei6vjirvhvvkmqg4alnezzid.onion/sites/redirection/register
CAN I CHOOSE TO LEAVE THE STUDY?
Your participation is voluntary, and you can choose to withdraw at any time. If you choose not to participate or wish to withdraw your participation, you do not need to state your reasons.
If you wish to withdraw your participation, please notify us by sending an email to redirectionprogram@proton.me. You may also choose to have your information removed from the study by informing the researchers of this; however, this can only be done during the trial period, as the data collected is anonymous and your e-mail will be deleted from the platform after data has been collected. After e-mails are deleted, there will be no way to link you to your data.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS AND BENEFITS TO PARTICIPATING?
Intervention Effects
After working through your thoughts and feelings in the self-help program, you may feel relief. Your sexual thoughts, feelings, or behaviors toward CSAM may be reduced by the interventions available to you in this research project.
The program and study questions include private topics such as sexuality and mental health. These topics may result in emotional discomfort. The intervention has no known serious negative side effects, but if you experience any, please contact the researchers by emailing redirectionprogram@proton.me. Please note as this is a self-help program, we are unable to provide urgent or emergency care. In the event that you are experiencing significant distress, you can find mental health resources in your location using the following website: https://www.helpguide.org/find-help.htm
Mandatory Reporting
We are required by law to report to the authorities when we have a reason to suspect that a child has been abused or is at risk of harm. Under Finnish law, we are also required to report knowledge of CSAM dissemination or possession (including gaining access), including information that we have received anonymously. We have taken several steps to reduce any personal risk of this to you. Most importantly, your participation is anonymous, and we will not ask for or collect any information that could reveal your identity (e.g., no personal contact details, personal ID, geographical- or IP-address). Please do not enter any identifying information (such as name or address) in any place on the platform. To further safeguard your anonymity, we recommend use of Tor browser and an anonymous e-mail address that is used only for this study. You may also choose to skip study questions that ask about demographic information and CSAM use by selecting “prefer not to say” (multiple choice format) or leaving the question blank (open-ended format).
Social Risk
Finally, there may be some social risk associated with your participation. For instance, if participation in this study were to make others aware of sexual interests and/or behaviours (e.g., someone close to you finds traces of the study participation on your computer or smartphone). To reduce this risk we recommend using the platform while in private and secure locations (e.g., on a private device while at home and connected to personal WiFi), and clearing your browsing history after use.
WHAT OTHER TREATMENT OPTIONS ARE THERE?
You do not have to take part in this study in order to receive treatment or care. If you are concerned about your sexual thoughts or behaviours, or have questions about CSAM or child sexual abuse, the link provided contains a list of low/no-cost resources available:
HOW WILL YOUR INFORMATION BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL?
All participation is anonymous and no identifiable information about you will be collected. Your privacy is protected by the platform used, which does not collect personal data (e.g., no personal contact details, personal ID, geographical- or IP-address) and has several security systems built in such as AES-256 algorithms for encryption. We have also taken several measures to keep participants safe. For example, we do not ask for any personal data, the platform is made accessible via Tor browser, and we also encourage you to use an anonymous e-mail address that is used only for this study. This e-mail address will be deleted from the platform serve once data has been collected, and it will not be included in the stored dataset.
The data you report on the platform will be managed within the study and reviewed only by members of the project team. After the data has been collected, it will be stored in a way so no unauthorized person can access it (e.g., password protected dataset on a secure server). No information that is stored can be linked to any individual. This research data may be accessed only for the purposes of research and ensuring compliance and adherence with ethical procedures.
The dataset will be kept for 10 years. Collective results may be published and/or presented at conferences. The data may also be used in future research studies, such as merging with data from other similar ethical research studies. All data that is shared is anonymous.
WHO CAN I CONTACT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS?
If you have questions about taking part in this study, feel free to email us at: redirectionprogram@proton.me
This study has been reviewed and approved by the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group Research Ethics Board (REB) as study #0246. If you have any ethical concerns about the study, or the way it is conducted, please contact the REB office: Alexis.Dorland@theroyal.ca
HOW CAN I FIND OUT ABOUT THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY?
If you are interested in the final research reports, please contact the responsible researcher (Dr. Carissa Augustyn: carissa.augustyn@theroyal.ca). As your participation is anonymous, it is not possible for you to request your individual data.
You can now begin your enrollment in the study. After you enroll in the study and check "I consent," you will be directed to the next step.
By checking "I consent" below you agree to the following terms:
We recommend the use use an anonymous e-mail address that is only used for this study. https://proton.me offers a free, encrypted e-mail service that is compatible with Tor.