Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Through Early Intervention
ReDirection is an anonymous online self-help program designed to prevent child sexual abuse by supporting individuals who are at risk of harming children, including those using child sexual abuse material.
The program reaches people early, at the moment of risk, and provides confidential support to stop harm before it occurs.
Why ReDirection Matters
Child sexual abuse material causes real and lifelong harm. Every image and every video represents a child who has been abused, and every view contributes to continued victimisation.
Research shows that many individuals who use child sexual abuse material want to stop but do not know where to turn or are afraid to seek help.
By supporting one individual to change their behaviour and stop using CSAM, we can reduce further harm, limit revictimisation of survivors, and contribute to the broader prevention of child sexual abuse.
What is the ReDirection Program?
ReDirection is grounded in cognitive behavioural therapy and evidence based offender prevention approaches.
It supports users to understand the personal, emotional, and situational factors that increase their risk of harming a child and helps them develop safer coping strategies, thinking patterns, and behaviours.
The program is fully confidential. No directly identifiable data is collected, and users cannot be identified or tracked.
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.
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.
Bring ReDirection to Your Country
We work with organisations dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse to bring the ReDirection program to new countries.
Scaling partners receive:
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Comprehensive training
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Access to program materials and technical support
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Ongoing collaboration with prevention experts
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Participation in an international network working to prevent child sexual abuse
If you are interested in becoming a scaling partner, please contact Anna Ovaska, Deputy Director, at anna.ovaska@suojellaanlapsia.fi
