Consequences for me

So, you now know that being arrested for accessing sexual images of children, comes with consequences.

However, some people report losses in their life a long time before they are caught by the authorities.

• Is your illegal behaviour online starting to affect your relationship with your partner? Both, sexually and emotionally?
• Are the empty and negative feelings you experience after going online causing you to become grumpy and short-tempered with the people in your life?
• Are the long hours you spend online each night affecting your ability to succeed at work, because you are so tired?

Use exercise 1 to get you thinking about the affect your online behaviour has had on your life already and what you are already losing.

Exercise 1: Losses and Consequences

Remember that it is possible to lose an emotional or moral part of you, just as much as it is possible to lose something physical.

Loss can also be partial; it does not have to be all or nothing.

Tip: In order to get the most benefit from this exercise, try to be as honest as you can.

Download printable template >

Take a bit of time to reflect on this exercise. Seeing what your behaviour can lead to can really put things into perspective.

Surely, now you know what the consequences are, in order to continue accessing sexual images of children, you must be getting something really good out of it? Use exercise 2 to consider whether you think this is the case.

Exercise 2: The gains and costs of my behaviour

Use this exercise to work out what the short term and long term gains are of your internet offending.  Then, using your responses from exercise 1, write down the costs in the second column.

Download printable template > 

Now ask yourself….

Do the gains outweigh the costs?

Probably not.