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HALIFAX, N.S. —

A Saint Mary's University researcher is developing mental health services for individuals with a sexual interest in minors.

It will be targeted towards people who have a sexual interest in children, but don't pursue it, said Skye Stephens, an assistant professor in SMU's psychology department.

"Sexual interest in children and sexual offending against children are not synonymous,” Stephen said, noting that some people don't act on those desires, but are distressed by them.

There are no mental health services that can help address their problem without fear of being reported or shunned, she said.

Most services available in Canada are for people who are already incarcerated, Stephens said.

“Once someone has offended and has been identified as having a sexual interest in children ... there are assessments and rehabilitation.”

But that's not available for people who haven't been through the criminal justice system and don't plan on offending at all, she said.

Please see statement about research conducted in my lab along with clarification about recent study on public attitudes that we were conducting to validate a measure of attitudes (intended recruitment was the public, regardless of their attitudes). pic.twitter.com/OfvE9uaOjQ — Dr. Skye Stephens (@stephens_skye) February 11, 2020

“For last 10 to 15 years, most researchers were unaware of this group,” Stephens said.

The need for the service was established two years ago, when Public Safety Canada funded Stephens and her colleagues to help develop the research. They conducted online surveys that proved there is a group of people out there who are in need of the clinical treatment.

But the surveys are usually anonymous because individuals fear their identities may be exposed.

“You would want to recruit people to participate in in-person studies, and often times those people … don't want to come in, because that can risk them being identified.”

Some countries, including Germany, are already developing treatment for people who have sexual interest in children, she said.

Stephens and her team are currently focusing on different treatment methods that could be applied.

“Sexual interest in children ... in the academic community, is viewed as something unchangeable. So it's all about teaching people skills to kind of manage that interest.”

She added that the focus of the treatment would be helping patients learn effective coping skills and how to incorporate those into their daily life.

Stephens is working with several colleagues across Canada on the program.

“The reception overall has been positive ... we can all probably agree as society that preventing violence against children, or any kind of violence, is an important goal,” she said.

Stephens and her team are just getting started. For the next five to 10 years, this will be the focus of her research. Right now, she's working on finding the right treatment needs for this group while assessing the likelihood of building such a program from the ground up.

“A program like this is needed. It could be effective at preventing sexual abuse when we do more on the front end of prevention as opposed to the back end when someone has already offended.”

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