Investigating Prostasia: Is It Rehabilitation or Normalisation?

It has recently come to our attention that there exists a potentially harmful forum seeking to normalise MAPs - Minor Attracted Peoples. The term spiked in popularity a couple of years ago but seemed to disappear from the mainstream until now. 

The forum is run by Prostasia, which describes itself as “a mission to ensure that the elimination of child abuse is acheived consistently”. It believes in providing people who proclaim that they are attracted to children with a sense of community and acceptance, but it does not seem to prioritise the victims, instead prioritising giving men a place to come together and discuss their own longing for fictional child p*rnography and how the laws should accommodate them. 

Note that we are not condoning admittance and therapy as ways to prevent child abuse from occuring - but there is a big difference between a person accepting that they have a problem and seeking professional help, versus being left to their devices on a forum in which they rant about the laws and legislatures that mildly inconvenience them or make them feel judged by society (or mean that they can’t buy dolls of children to jerk off to in certain places).

The concept of this forum in and of itself is not the best idea - it allows users over the age of thirteen, meaning that minors can be given this poorly monitored and clearly biased platform to communicate with people who could be dangerous. These people claim to love children and not want to harm them - but does that mean that each user of the forum has good intentions?

Well, definitely not. Multiple of the admins/volunteers have been found to be on the sex register and so have already acted upon the urges that they say they would not condone. 

It also presents a possibility of these people forming a toxic group mentality - them versus the rest of the world - which can in turn radicalise people into committing the very acts that they are trying to prevent. Finally, it allows them to easily create connections with other like-minded people, which could turn out to be a sinister idea. 

This forum has become a breeding ground for some very harmful ideologies, all hidden under a passionate defence of free speech and tolerance. 

So, if any Prostasia user should happen across this article, here’s my message to you: it is positive if you can admit you have a problem and wish to seek help without ever endangering a child. But framing the rest of the world as your enemies, as haters, and yourselves as victims will not get you anywhere: your desire to get-off without repercussion will never be more important than child safety. 

How you can help: 

If you are a parent, block Prostasia from your children’s devices or blacklist it from your Internet using the parental controls available to you. 

Do not donate to Prostasia or support their foundation. There are much better charities aiming to prevent CSA, including CSA Centre, One In Four, and Voicing CSA.

Written by Jasmine Lowen