Preventing Harm Before it Happens
ReDirection is a free, anonymous online self-help program that helps prevent child sexual abuse by supporting individuals who are at risk of harming children.
The program reaches people early, at the moment of risk, and provides confidential support to stop harm before it occurs.
Preventing Harm Before it Happens
ReDirection is a free, anonymous online self-help program that helps prevent child sexual abuse by supporting individuals who are at risk of harming children.
The program reaches people early, at the moment of risk, and provides confidential support to stop harm before it occurs.
Feedback from users of the ReDirection program
75% of the users of the ReDirection program say that their use of child sexual abuse material has decreased or stopped completely. 58% of users say that they are very confident in their own ability to maintain the results achieved through the program.
Launched in 2021, ReDirection was developed by Protect Children in collaboration with psychologists Nina Nurminen and Mikko Ylipekka from the Finnish Criminal Sanctions Agency.
The program is based on the manualised Uusi Suunta, New Direction Individual Program for Sex Offenders, which is used in Finland and Estonia.
The latest version, ReDirection 2.0, was revised within the EU-funded Project Bridge in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet.
ReDirection is promoted in online spaces where individuals at risk may already be searching for harmful or illegal material, including dark web platforms, pornography sites, search engines, and social media.
This early intervention approach allows support to reach people at the point of risk, rather than after harm has taken place.
Preventing Harm Before it Happens
ReDirection is a free, anonymous online self-help program that helps prevent child sexual abuse by supporting individuals who are at risk of harming children.
The program reaches people early, at the moment of risk, and provides confidential support to stop harm before it occurs.
Impact and Evidence
Since its launch in September 2021, ReDirection has demonstrated strong engagement and promising preventive outcomes.
+100k
Hundreds of thousands of users
600
Approximately 600 website visits per day
77%
Of feedback givers say that the program is effective
Evaluation
The ReDirection program has undergone multiple evaluations demonstrating its effectiveness, scalability, and potential as a prevention tool.
In 2022, ReDirection was evaluated for scalability by Management Systems International. It was identified as a strong candidate for broader implementation.
This evaluation was conducted as part of the Global Perpetration Prevention: Translating Knowledge to Action program, implemented by the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse at Johns Hopkins University.
ReDirection was evaluated through a randomised control trial within the EU-funded Project Bridge (2023-2024). The project evaluated the effectiveness of two anonymous online therapeutic programs aimed at reducing sexual urges and behaviours towards children.
Preliminary findings indicate that ReDirection is effective in reducing the use of child sexual abuse material. Results are pending publication.
ReDirection is currently undergoing a rigorous impact evaluation led by researchers at The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research in collaboration with Protect Children.
This study is part of the Prevention Global initiative, which selected ReDirection as one of only seven high-potential programs worldwide for in-depth assessment.
Prevention Global is a research initiative led by MOORE – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research.
Preventing Harm Before it Happens
ReDirection is a free, anonymous online self-help program that helps prevent child sexual abuse by supporting individuals who are at risk of harming children.
The program reaches people early, at the moment of risk, and provides confidential support to stop harm before it occurs.
