Protech Consortium Partners

The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin stands as one of the largest university hospitals in Europe and is affiliated with both Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. The specific project at hand will be carried out by the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine. This institute offers lectures, studies, and internships for students across various disciplines. As part of their education, all medical students at the Charité receive training on the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of human sexual disorders. Additionally, further training for doctors and psychologists follows separate curricula outlined by the regulations of the Berlin Chamber of Physicians.

The Institute also conducts interdisciplinary research on human sexuality, encompassing biological, psychological, and social factors that influence it. Furthermore, diagnostic and therapeutic services are provided to individuals facing challenges with their sexuality and a sexual medicine outpatient university clinic caters to a wide range of known conditions, symptoms, or manifestations related to human sexuality that require medical attention or treatment. In 2005 the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine started the “Prevention Project Dunkelfeld” which has now developed into a nationwide network of outpatient clinics providing treatment for self-identifying and help-seeking individuals with a sexual interest in children. The Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine also houses an internal PR team, which is actively involved in public relations, patient recruitment, deterrence strategies, and advocacy on behalf of the institute. 

The Institute of Sexology & Sexual Medicine is responsible for the overall project management of Protech. In addition, the Salus pilot will be implemented with volunteer patients currently attending the Berlin clinic. The staff members involved in Protech include psychologists, physicians, project managers and public health communication specialists.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is a UK-based non-profit organisation working to combat the spread of online child sexual abuse imagery across the global internet. It operates as a reporting hotline and a takedown service to identify and remove explicit material involving minors from the internet. The IWF works in collaboration with various tech/internet companies, law enforcement agencies, and other international partners to tackle the distribution and sharing of illegal content showing the sexual abuse of children. 

Through its dedicated reporting mechanisms, the IWF encourages the public to report any explicit material they may stumble across online. They are also one of the only non-law enforcement agencies who proactively search for child sexual abuse content online. They investigate these reports, working to trace and remove the content at its source regardless of global location. 

The IWF plays a crucial role in protecting vulnerable individuals from exploitation and abuse, while also working to ensure a safer online environment for users of all ages. By working closely with tech companies, government agencies, and other stakeholders, the IWF continues to be a significant force in the fight against online child sexual abuse imagery and content.

Within the Protech project, the IWF are leading on communications and marketing. They are also working closely with SafeToNet to provide the source child abuse imagery used to train the machine learning model which will power the Salus app.

SafeToNet exists to keep children safer online. SafeToNet pioneers real-time artificial intelligence technology that respects the absolute right of privacy.

SafeToNet operates a B2B model and provides embeddable technology to partners such as handset manufacturers, network operators and platform providers, while also providing a B2C app that keeps children safe on their digital devices.

SafeToNet is heavily engaged with thought leaders in the space and works with partners to usher in a paradigm shift in online safety.

For the Salus prototype app, SafeToNet will create an innovative, user-designed software solution that will monitor participant’s searches for internet-based images and videos in real-time. Using a machine learning model, the solution will determine if images or videos contain child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) related data. Where CSAM is present, the offending content is removed, and a block screen is displayed to the participant. The app will be designed with the participant’s privacy and anonymity in mind and includes clear and transparent privacy flows to explain exactly how the app works and how it is built to help them.

ARU is a university with campuses in Cambridge, Chelmsford, London and Peterborough. The university is ranked in the world’s top 350 institutions in the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and they are a global university transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research. Their research institutes and four faculties bridge scientific, technical and creative fields and deliver impactful research which tackles pressing issues and makes a real difference to communities. Their academic excellence has been recognised by the UK’s Higher Education funding bodies, with 16 of our research areas assessed as world-leading. In 2021, we were awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for our world-leading music therapy work.

ARU's role in the Protect project is to oversee the pilot implementation of the technological prevention tool in five different community therapeutic settings in Europe working with more than 50 professionals and 180 at risk individuals. ARU are also responsible for the evaluation of the process-, outcome- and cost-effectiveness of the Salus intervention.

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation is the only UK-wide charity tackling child sexual abuse - taking a preventive approach to stop it happening in the first place or stop it happening again. LFF works with all those affected including adult male and female abusers; young people with harmful sexual behaviour; children with concerning sexual behaviours; victims of abuse, and other family members.

It provides the free and confidential Stop It Now! UK and Ireland helpline 0808 1000 900 for those at risk of offending, for their families and friends and for professionals seeking case advice - helping to stop offending by supporting those at risk, educating family members about the signs to look out for and actions to take and supporting professionals through provision of specialist information, guidance and resources.

LFF is contributing to the management and coordination of the Protech Project, including through stakeholder engagement and consensus building activities that inform the strategy for the successful adaptation and deployment of Salus. LFF practitioners and service users will be involved in focus groups and interviews to assist in the design of the Salus prototype. LFF will play a central role in trialling and advising on the delivery and utility of the Salus intervention, recruiting and collecting data among its service users, who will constitute the majority of overall project participants.

The University Forensic Centre is part of the campus Psychiatry of the Antwerp University Hospital, co-operating with the Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI) of the University of Antwerp. The UFC offers specialized outpatient treatment to individuals who committed deviant sexual behaviour and to individuals who have deviant sexual interests. In addition, the UFC operates as a support and reference centre and therefore it provides scientific and logistic support to stakeholders tackling the issue of sex offending in Belgium. The UFC has an experienced multi-disciplinary team who will ensure participant recruitment and the implementation of the service delivery pilot of Protech.

Stop it Now! Flanders aims to prevent child sexual abuse (CSA) by informing and raising awareness about CSA prevention. They also offer free and anonymous support to everyone who is concerned about their own sexual feelings, thoughts or behaviour towards minors, and by those individuals who are concerned about the feelings or behaviour of acquaintances, friends, and family members. For them Stop it Now! provides a helpline, online self-help materials and support groups. Stop it Now! has experience in help services and communication campaigns for the target audience of Protech and research experience in help seeking among (potential) offenders and prevention. They will be involved in the research implementation and communication of Protech.

The Department of Developmental Psychology at Tilburg University specialises in life course development, developmental psychology and psychopathology, life events, cognitions and emotions, personality and short- and long-term transitions. In the field of forensic psychology, the department offers an undergraduate programme in forensic psychology and a clinical master's programme in forensic psychology. The research in the field of forensic psychopathology, aggression and personality, risk assessment, physiological research, longitudinal research on treatment effectiveness and treatment (innovation, such as virtual reality and e-health) is among the best in Europe

Offlimits, the expert centre on online harm and abuse, is an independent foundation focused on combating and preventing online harm and abuse and ensure an open and safe internet for all. Offlimits is the umbrella organisation for three existing initiatives: The Child Sexual Exploitation Materials (CSEM) Hotline, Helpwanted and Stop it Now.

Stop it Now’s key objective is the prevention of sexual child abuse. Stop it Now runs a helpline to offer anonymous, confidential and free support to anyone worried about their sexual feelings and/or behaviour towards minors. For example, people viewing CSAM or are at risk of/has committed sexual child abuse. Anyone who has concerns about someone else can also contact the helpline. Stop it Now offers accessible support. For example, Stop it Now offers online self-help with the modules of It is Possible to Stop and runs campaign on porn websites.

With our helpline, we have contact on a daily basis with people who are at risk of watching CSAM. This gives us a unique opportunity to collect their input. Within the Protech project, Stop it Now will collect that input about the Salus prevention tool, in one-on-one anonymous interviews.

Stop it Now will also run focus groups with professionals from Stop it Now and forensic outpatient centres working with people who are at risk of watching CSAM. The input of professionals is important because of their experiences in clinical practice.