Study Information

Study title 

Perpetrator-focused prevention of sexual child abuse and the use of abuse images 
among affected individuals in India through a chat service.

Information about the Study

Thank you for your interest in participating in our chat study as part of the PATH India project! 
You can use this service to chat with one of our therapists in real-time, anonymously, and for free. 
No personal information such as name, IP address, phone number, or image or audio material is 
collected. We use the online self-help and research platform Troubled Desire to make these 
interactions possible. We are a research team at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, which also 
includes our therapists in India. Please take a moment to read the following information carefully.

Project Description

We offer an anonymous, confidential, and free chat intervention for people who are at risk of 
viewing sexual material involving children and adolescents or are worried about it (abbreviated 
'CSAM'). The therapeutic intervention follows a resource-oriented approach based on the 
experiences of the prevention network 'Kein Täter werden.' The sessions are conducted via text 
messages. We want to see if this chat intervention can have a positive effect on reducing the use 
of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and improving the mental well-being of our participants. 
In addition, as researchers, we want to learn more about the factors that increase our participants' 
risk of using abusive images and their behavior when seeking help. The main goal of our study is 
to prevent the spread of CSAM and to develop effective, tailored support services for people with 
sexual interest in children that meet the participants' needs.

Course of the Study

The study includes a chat intervention that is accessible through our self-help and study platform 
"Troubled Desire." Both the therapists and the participants remain anonymous throughout the 
entire process. Logging into the chat platform works exclusively with a randomly generated 
session ID. This consists of letters and numbers and functions as a PIN for logging in. No data that 
could be used for identification is collected, meaning we do not gather names, addresses, places of 
residence, phone numbers, IP addresses, image recordings (e.g., of the face), or voice recordings. 
All communication within the study takes place via the Troubled Desire platform, which can be 
accessed using your own session ID. This is also where appointments are scheduled and chats with 
the therapist are conducted in writing. Troubled Desire is stored on secure servers at Charité –
Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Both parties are strongly advised not to share personal information at 
any time during their collaboration (you can find instructions on how to effectively protect your 
identity on our website). After interested parties give their consent to participate, a short initial 
questionnaire follows to determine if they can take part. After logging in with their personal session 
ID, participants schedule appointments with their therapist. A chat session lasts exactly 50 minutes 
and takes place exclusively through the platform at the previously agreed times. Over a period of 
4 weeks, there are a total of 4 appointments, and if needed, 2 more sessions can be scheduled.
These can be suggested by the therapists. During this time and in the following 4, 8, and 12 weeks, 
study participants will regularly be asked to answer some questions in their personal login area. 
These questions collect demographic information, CSAM behavior, their sexual interests and 
attitudes, their beliefs, experiences and overall mood, as well as questions about the treatment itself. 
All questions are answered anonymously. 
The study is being conducted by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (CUB) in Germany. All data 
is stored on CUB’s secure servers without any personal identifiers.

Voluntary Participation

Participation in the study is completely voluntary. Before you answer any of our questions, you 
will be presented with a consent form. Since we ask you not to use your name at any point during 
the process, signing is not possible; instead, we ask you to check the box on Troubled Desire to 
indicate your consent. You can withdraw your consent to participate at any time through the chat 
section of Troubled Desire, without having any consequences for the duration of the study. If you 
decide not to participate in the study, you can do so without giving any reason and withdrawing 
any information you’ve provided if you wish. You have the right not to answer questions asked 
during the conversation or to provide only as much information as you’re comfortable with. You 
will be reminded repeatedly to remain anonymous and not to share personal information when 
answering questions, communicating in the message center, or during your chat appointments with 
your therapists.

Benefits and Risks of Participating

Your contribution can help us evaluate and improve the intervention we are developing. You will 
be supported by our therapists to achieve well-being and healthy sexual behavior. In addition, this 
intervention can be used to help others get the support they need in a free, anonymous, and 
judgment-free virtual environment. Your participation can help prevent the sexual exploitation of 
children and curb the spread of CSAM. Participating in the study involves no physical risks. 
However, you may feel uncomfortable with certain topics. 

Reimbursement of Costs

There is no payment for participating in the study.

Measures to Protect the Data

The chat intervention requires access to an electronic device (e.g., computer, tablet, or smartphone) 
that has a web browser application (e.g., Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome, Edge, Tor browser, or 
similar) and is connected to the internet at a specific agreed-upon time for both the therapist and 
the participant. All data is end-to-end encrypted. The chat conversations are conducted exclusively 
in text form. The chat transcripts are stored in a secure database on a server at Charité and are used 
for the research purposes mentioned above. The collected data is anonymized, and all potentially 
identifying personal information is removed before further processing. The transcripts and 
translations are stored for ten years on a password-protected drive with additional access 
restrictions. All collected data, including the questionnaires, are stored separately. This ensures 
your anonymity regarding the research results. Data processing is carried out in accordance with 
applicable data protection laws, especially the European General Data Protection Regulation 
(GDPR), the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), and the Berlin Data Protection Act (BlnDSG).

Confidentiality

Your data will be treated strictly confidentially. Your data will be collected anonymously and 
stored securely. The results of the study will only be published for scientific purposes. No 
information will be published that allows conclusions about your identity. All people who have 
access to your documents are required to treat them confidentially and comply with the applicable 
data protection regulations.
You can request the deletion of your session ID and chat history at any time. You can decide to 
take part in the research study and have your responses used for the research project until your 
answers have been processed anonymously. After that, a targeted deletion of your responses is no 
longer possible, because they can no longer be linked to any person.
Institute for Sexual Science and Sexual Medicine
Director Prof. Dr. med. Dr. phil. Klaus M. Beier
Charitéplatz 1
10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 450 529 302
Email: klaus.beier@charite.de
____________________________________________

 

After the admission assessment and meeting the initial inclusion and exclusion criteria, you will 
be asked if you are located in India. If you answer "Yes," the following information will be 
displayed:

We ask that you only continue if you reside in India so that we can collect the appropriate research 
data.

 

Additional Risks related to Participation

• Please note that everyone in India is subject to the provisions of the POCSO Act of 2012 
  (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) and its amendments. This law requires that 
  anyone who suspects that an offense under this law might have been committed, or knows that 
  such an offense has been committed, must report the incident to the appropriate authorities. The 
  necessary information includes the victim’s name, the perpetrator’s name, locations, type of 
  behavior, etc. This duty applies to private individuals just as much as it does to researchers or 
  therapists.
  Our study is aimed at people who have used abuse images in the past or who currently have a risk 
  of using them. In our study, we don't collect any identifying information like your name, address, 
  or location.
  Since the use of CSAM falls under POCSO, we are required to document an anonymized reporting 
  attempt. Since we do not know your name, address, IP address, voice, or face, we cannot share any 
  personally identifiable information. So, we cannot make a report that identifies a specific person. 
  At most, a general report without any identifiable information can be made to fulfill our reporting 
  duty.
  What this means for you:
  We don’t know your identity.
  The behavior you report to us can’t be linked to your name or identity.
  The focus of this study offer is to help you reduce or stop harmful behavior.
   
• Our study is not aimed at people who have committed sexual abuse of children in the past or who 
  currently pose a risk for this behavior. If you report this kind of behavior to us during the chat 
  intervention, we will have to end the intervention and make an anonymized official report. In this 
  case, the following alternative support options are available to you:
   
• You have the option to continue the online self-help modules on Troubled Desire on your own. 
  Additionally, we can refer you to an international video therapy program on a self-pay basis for 
  people with sexual responsiveness to children.
   

• Who Organizes and Funds the Research

 This study is an initiative of the Institute for Sexual Science and Sexual Medicine at Charité -
Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, and is funded by the 'Clinical Partnerships' program of the 
German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ)

 

Questions about the Study

You can also get in touch with the research team at the Institute for Sexual Science and Sexual 
Medicine (IfSS), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany at path-india@charite.de

 

Thank you for considering participating in this study.

Join now

Study Information

Thank you for your interest in participating in our chat study! Through this service you can chat in real time, completely anonymously and free of charge with one of our therapists. We use the online self-help and research platform Troubled Desire for this purpose. Please take a moment to read the following information carefully.

Project description

We offer an anonymous, confidential and free chat-based intervention for those at risk or concerned about viewing child and early adolescent sexual material (abbreviated as "CSAM"). The therapeutic intervention follows a resource-oriented approach that builds on the experience of the prevention network "Don't Become a Perpetrator." The sessions will take the form of text messages delivered in a chat-based modality. We would like to test whether this chat intervention can have a positive effect on reducing the use of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and the psychological well-being of our participants. In addition, as researchers, we would like to learn more about the factors that increase our participants' risk of using abuse images and their help-seeking behaviours. Another aim of this study is to develop an AI assistant for your therapists and an anonymised dialogue database, which will enable us to support more people. The main aim of our study is to prevent the spread of CSAM and to develop effective, tailored support services for people with a sexual interest in children that meet the needs of the participants.

Procedure of the study

The study involves a chat intervention accessible through our self-help and study platform, the Troubled Desire programme. Both therapists and participants remain anonymous throughout the process and both are strongly advised not to disclose any personal information at any point during their work together (instructions on how to protect your identity effectively can be found here). After the interested parties have agreed to participate, a short initial interview follows to clarify whether they can participate. In their personal area, participants make appointments with their therapists. A chat session lasts exactly 50 minutes and takes place exclusively via the platform at the pre-arranged appointments. In a period of 4 weeks, this is a total of 4 appointments and, if necessary, 2 further sessions are arranged. These can be suggested by the therapists. During this time and for 4, 8 and 12 weeks afterwards, the study participants are regularly invited to answer some questions in their personal login area. These questions relate to your CSAM behaviour, beliefs, experiences and general mood. All questions are answered anonymously.

The study is conducted by Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin (CUB) in Germany in collaboration with some partners. These are the International University of Catalonia (UIC) in Spain, the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) in Portugal, the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in the Czech Republic. All data is stored on CUB's secure servers without any personal reference. Both UIC and UTAD are responsible for analysing the data collected in the STOP-CSAM study. TUB will use the collected data to programme an AI assistant to support therapists with best therapeutic practice. Therefore, it is necessary to exchange the data end-to-end encrypted between Charité and its research partners.

Voluntary participation 

Participation in the study is completely voluntary. Before you answer any of our questions, you will be presented with a consent form. As we ask you not to use your name at any point in the process, thus removing the possibility of a signature, we ask you to tick the box as a consent form. You can withdraw your consent to participate at any time without consequences for the duration of the study. If you decide not to participate in the study, you can do so without giving any reason and you can withdraw the information you have given if you wish. You have the right not to answer questions asked during the discussion or not to give more information than you are comfortable with. You are repeatedly reminded to remain anonymous and not to disclose any personal information when answering questions, communicating in the message centre or during your chat appointments with your therapists.

Benefits and risks of participation 

Your participation is important to the study as you will be using the TCS service we provide. Your contribution can help us evaluate and improve the intervention we have developed. You will be supported by our therapists to achieve wellbeing and healthy sexual behaviour. In addition, this intervention can be used to help others get the support they need in a free, anonymous and judgement-free virtual environment. Your participation can help prevent child sexual exploitation and reduce the spread of CSAM. There is no physical risk associated with participating in the study. However, it is possible that you may feel uncomfortable about certain issues.

Expense allowance 

There is no financial allowance for participation in the study.

Ethics vote

This study was approved by the responsible ethics committee of the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. 

Data protection measures 

The implementation of the TCS intervention requires access to an electronic device (e.g. computer, tablet or smartphone) equipped with a web browser application (e.g. Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome, Edge, Tor browser or similar) and connected to the internet for both the therapists and the participant at a specific agreed ter-min. All data is encrypted end-to-end. The chat conversations are all conducted in text form. The chat transcripts will be stored in a secure database and used for the above research purposes and clinical documentation. The data collected will be anonymous and any potentially identifying personal data will be removed before further processing. The ano-nymous transcripts will be securely transferred to our partner researchers mentioned above (i.e. TUB, UTAD, UIC and NIMH) for further analysis and processing. For this purpose, TUB, UIC and UTAD will be given direct access to the database via two-factor authentication. The transcripts and translations will be kept on a password-protected drive for ten years with further access restriction. All data collected, including questionnaires, are kept separately. This ensures your anonymity with regard to the research results. Data processing is carried out in accordance with the applicable data protection laws, in particular the European Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO), the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and the Berlin Data Protection Act (BlnDSG). All research data remains in the European Economic Area.

Confidentiality

Your details will be handled with extreme care. Your personal data will be collected anonymously and stored securely. The results of the study will only be published for scientific purposes. No information will be published that allows conclusions to be drawn about your identity. All persons who have access to your documents are obliged to treat them confidentially and to comply with the applicable data protection regulations.

Participant rights and contact information 

You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You have the right to information, correction, deletion, restriction of processing, data portability and objection to the processing of your personal data. You can revoke your consent to the use and disclosure of your data at any time without incurring any disadvantages.

If you have any questions about the study or wish to exercise your rights, please contact the office responsible for data processing and study management in writing. Please use these contact details only for enquiries and do not share sensitive data by e-mail.

Institut für Sexualwissenschaft und Sexualmedizin
Direktor Prof. Dr. med. Dr. phil. Klaus M. Beier
Campus Charité Mitte
Charitéplatz 1
10117 Berlin
Telefon: +49 30 450 529 302
E-mail: stop-csam@charite.de

If you have any concerns regarding data processing and compliance with data protection
requirements, you can also contact the Data Protection Officer of the Charité
- University Medicine Berlin:

Data Protection Officer Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Charitéplatz 1
10117 Berlin
Telephone: +49 30 450 580016
E-mail: datenschutzbeauftragte@charite.de 

In the event that you consider data processing to be unlawful, you have the option of filing a complaint with the supervisory authority responsible for Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin:

Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information
Alt-Moabit 59-61
10555 Berlin
Telefon: +49 30 13889-0
Fax: +49 30 2155050
E-Mail: mailbox@datenschutz-berlin.de
https://www.datenschutz-berlin.de  Join now