Update, 9/25/2025: Recruitment for this study has ended, thank you to all who participated!

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Original Post, 8/13/2025:

Participants are needed for a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Lancashire in the United Kingdom. The study aims to explore lived experiences of people who are attracted to children who have experienced suicidal thoughts and their interactions with mental health services, to improve and make these services more accessible.

Participation involves completing a 60-minute interview. People who are age 18 or older, who are attracted to children, have experienced suicidal thoughts may be eligible to participate. Participants from the United Kingdom are being sought primarily. Interested potential participants may contact the researcher at rmurphy7@uclan.ac.uk.

The following message was provided by the researcher:

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Hello,

My name is Rachel and I am a practitioner researcher. I work in a mental health service in
the UK and am completing a PhD study to explore how mental health services can become
more receptive and responsive to meet the needs of Minor Attracted Persons (MAPs).

I am currently recruiting participants to take part in research interviews. I am seeking to
interview people aged 18 or over, who are attracted to children and who have experienced
suicidal thoughts. This is aimed at people who are not currently in the criminal justice
system and who have experienced suicidal thoughts without having committed an offence
involving a child. Participants from the UK are being sought primarily, although international
participants are also welcomed.

The interviews will last approximately 60 minutes. They will explore your mental health
experiences, any mental health service interactions that you have had (positive or negative),
and the interplay between your sexual attraction, mental health needs and risk of suicide. If
you have experienced suicidal thoughts but have never accessed mental health services,
you are welcome to participate.

The aim is to capture your perspectives and lived experiences, to understand how the
interface between MAPs and mental health services can be developed, to enable more
effective and accessible support services for MAPs.

Interviews can be conducted via telephone or online. Microsoft Teams is the suggested
online platform, where you can disable your camera and you do not need to register for an
account; you can be sent the link to join so that you can remain anonymous if you wish.

Alternative online platforms can be used, if you prefer. If you wish to remain anonymous,
please set up a non-identifiable email address to use for all correspondence. This will also
allow me to send you the interview link via Teams (or your preferred option) for you to join
without the need to set up an account or provide any identifying information. You are
welcome to use a pseudonym (a different name) throughout your involvement in the study,
and all data will be completely anonymised after collection.

If you would like to take part, have any questions, or would like more information please
email me at rmurphy7@uclan.ac.uk

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Rachel

Participants are needed for a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Bonn and University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. The study aims to gain an overview of lawful means of sexual satisfaction among people who are attracted to children, whether specific personality traits influence these decisions, and the impact of changes tightening sexual criminal laws regarding such outlets.

People who are age 18 or older and identify as being attracted to minors are invited to participate by completing a 15-minute survey. The survey is available in both English and German. Interested potential participants can learn more or complete the survey using the following link:

The researchers have provided the following message with additional information about the study and how to participate:

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“Legal pathways and alternatives for Minor Attracted Persons (MAPs): Dealing with sexual needs and the influence of personality”

The study focuses on strategies for dealing with emotional and sexual needs in individuals who are sexually attracted to minors. Its aim is to better understand which legal and illegal methods are used to cope with these needs, and how personality traits, the subjective experience of sexual urges, and legal frameworks influence these decisions.

People who experience a sexual interest in minors also have a need for sexual expression. However, this need can only be expressed to a very limited extent within legal and social boundaries. Legal forms of expression are rarely available or have become increasingly restricted due to legislative changes, such as the introduction of § 184l of the German Criminal Code, which criminalizes the possession and distribution of childlike sex dolls. These legal developments have made it more difficult for affected individuals to live out their sexuality in accordance with the law, without harming real children or adolescents (Desbuleux & Fuss, 2023, 2024; German Bundestag, 2020; Frommel, 2021).

Since it is generally not possible to permanently suppress or ignore one’s sexuality, many people with this sexual preference are limited to inner fantasies and masturbation. This often leads to long-term internal conflict. For this reason, it is important to gain more insight into the legal strategies currently used by affected individuals, and to understand how recent legislative changes—particularly in Germany—have impacted their options and daily lives.

Participation in the study is anonymous, voluntary, and takes approximately 15 minutes. No personal data such as names or IP addresses will be collected. Your responses will be transmitted via encrypted connection, treated confidentially, and analyzed exclusively in aggregated statistical form.

To participate in the English version of the study, please click the following link: 
https://syskrim.limesurvey.net/648689?lang=en

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to contact us at:
s82fmath@uni-bonn.de or info@franziska-mathaeus.de

Franziska Mathäus (University of Bonn), Jeanne Desbuleux (University of Duisburg-Essen), Johannes Fuß (University of Duisburg-Essen)

Participants are needed for a new research project being conducted by Project VERANDA in Germany, a initiative which aims to develop new software for video, audio and text chat anonymization, for use in remote psychotherapy. The survey aims to understand the barriers different people face when accessing care, especially with regard to anonymity, and how these barriers can be overcome.

Anyone who is 18 years of age or older and speaks either English or German is invited to participate by completing a 30-45 minute survey. Interested potential participants may click the following link to participate or learn more:

The researchers have provided the following message with additional information about the study:

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We are developing video, audio and text anonymization tools to provide anonymous access to help and support healthcare services.

Therefore, we would like to get your input on the features and requirements for these tools. For this purpose, we have set up an anonymous survey to collect your feedback. With your participation, we hope to develop a free and trustworthy tool.

We are a group of researchers from the Charité University Hospital of Berlin and our project partners.

While the researchers are associated with and the project is born from sexual abuse prevention projects, this project is independent and intended to be used in a wider variety of use cases, not exclusively for prevention services.

If you want to know more or are willing to participate, you can find further information and the survey under the following link:

https://survey.charite.de/Gr_01

The survey will be running until 18.08.2025. We would greatly appreciate your participation! For inquiries, please contact Luke Flanagan: Luke.Flanagan@bih-charite.de