Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in the 'Dunkelfeld': A Public Health Imperative Requiring Context-Appropriate Science-A Response to König (2025).

Abstract

König's (2025) critique of the German Prevention Project Dunkelfeld mis-applies standards developed for adjudicated ("Hellfeld") offenders to a voluntary, non-forensic prevention setting. We clarify why context-appropriate science is essential for evaluating interventions that reach individuals whose child sexual abuse (CSA) behaviour remains hidden from the justice system. First, the large gap between official recidivism and high self-reported offending is not methodological failure but strong evidence of the well-documented "dark figure" of undetected sexual crime. Second, Germany's unique legal framework (§ 65d SGB V; § 203 StGB) enables confidential, face-to-face treatment and pharmacological options that are infeasible in jurisdictions with mandatory reporting, making Dunkelfeld programmes a public-health imperative. Third, forensic risk tools and the CODC (2007) guidelines lack demonstrated validity for voluntary help-seekers; carefully collected self-report and dynamic risk-factor change therefore constitute the only context-relevant outcome metrics. Fourth, concerns about iatrogenic effects must be interpreted through the Risk-Need-Responsivity lens: specialised, multi-modal interventions such as the Berlin Dissexuality Therapy (BEDIT) show beneficial changes in cognitive and behavioural risk markers, mirroring findings from recent RCTs of internet-delivered CBT and pharmacological therapy. Finally, all German model sites are currently undergoing an independent, multi-year evaluation commissioned by the national health-insurance association. We conclude that preventing CSA and CSAM requires embracing rigorous yet context-sensitive methodologies rather than importing standards that overlook the dark figure. The ethical imperative to prevent harm and offer help to those at risk persists even acknowledging that no intervention guarantees universal success, demanding our most contextually sensitive scientific efforts.