Welcome to our next IATSO Conference in Poznań, Poland!
August 26th to August 29th, 2025
Successes and failures in preventing sexual violence – Empirical findings, new concepts, and intercultural perspectives
On behalf of the Scientific and Local Organizing Committees, we would like to invite you to the 18th conference of the International Association for the Treatment of Sexual Offenders (IATSO) in Poznań. The conference takes place from August 26th to August 29th, 2025 at the Adam Mickiewicz University (UAM).
This time, we would like to highlight that the assessment, treatment and research about individuals who have committed sexual offenses are highly impacted by various context variables. One layer of the context is public policy. Our actions are often criticized by policy makers or the general public and they may be under heavy pressure. Public policies related to sexual violence require our participation but they are also evaluated by research efforts. Other layers of the context include cultural differences, knowledge gathered in various academic fields (such as psychology, law, medicine or general sexology) and requirements of the organizations within which we operate (eg. prison service or university).
Taking these and other layers of the context into consideration, it becomes visible how complex the task of preventing sexual violence is. However, we believe that facing this complexity is a away to undersand our successes and failures and make our work more effective.
We welcome you to four exciting days in Poznań!
Filip Szumski, Chair of the Local Organizing Committee
Natalia Andrzejczyk, Local Organizing Committee
Dominika Bartoszak, Local Organizing Committee
Sabrina Eberhaut, Conference Organizing Committee
Sonja Etzler, Conference Organizing Committee
Martin Rettenberger, IATSO president elect
Reinhard Eher, IATSO president
Conference Information
IATSO 2025 will be a hybrid conference which can be attended on-siteor virtually. However, in contrast to our previous conferences, only the sessions of the main hall - this includes every keynote - will be live-streamed. The sessions of the main hall and some - but not all - of the other parallel sessions will also be recorded and stored in our video gallery. They will be accessible for 3 months (until December 1st, 2025) to all registered participants of the 18th IATSO conference 2025. IATSO does not provide any option for downloading and distributing them.
On August 26th, there will be the Prevent and Protect Through Support (2PS) Project Knowledge Transfer Workshop. The workshop is included in the on-site conference ticket. Please find more information about the 2PS workshop by clicking HERE!
On August 27th, there will be our pre-conference workshops. Pre-conference workshops are also for on-site participants only. However, we need to charge a small additional fee (30 Euros) if they want to attend a pre-conference workshop.
This means that only on-site participants have the full conference ticket. In addition to their access to the conference site, they also have access to the virtual conference and the recorded videos. For virtual participants, the conference starts at 1:00 PM on August 27th with the opening ceremony.
Presenters need to attend the conference on-site in order to give their presentations. Except for the keynotes, all presenters have to register for the conference and pay the conference fee for on-site participation.
Conference Registration
You can register for ON-SITE participation by clicking here!
You can register for VIRTUAL participation by clicking here!
Abstract Submission
To submit an ABSTRACT, click here!
Keynote Speakers
PLENARY SESSIONS:
- Thore Langfeldt (Norway): The history and current state of our understanding of pedophilia
- Anthony R. Beech (UK): Understanding the neurobiology of sexual offending: Implications for treatment
- Michał Lew - Starowicz (Poland): Hypersexuality and sexual offending
- Filip Szumski (Poland): Sex offenders registration, public notification, and civil commitment. Implementation in Poland
- Furaha-Joy Sekai Saungweme & Megan Cistulli (USA): The Economic Impact of Sexual Violence in Civil Conflict: Lessons from the DRC v Uganda ICJ Judgment
- Kelly M. Babchishin (Canada): Working through the puzzle: Understanding dyadic and family roles in incest across different relationship types
- Maria Aparcero Suero (USA): Cultural considerations in sex offender risk assessment and treatment
- Sonja Etzler & Julia Sauter (Germany): Psychoanalysis in the Treatment of Sexual Offenders - An Outdated Concept or an Underestimated Potential?
- Theresa A. Gannon (UK): Treatment for men who have sexually offended: Tips for success
- Elizabeth Letourneau (USA): Failed policies: US sex offenders registration, public notification, and civil commitment
- Michael Miner(USA): Research with adolescents who have engaged in harmful sexual behavior: What we've learned and implications for treatment and prevention
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS (for on-site attendants only) :
- Thore Langfeldt (Norway): Strategies for treatment of sex offenses against children with relationship therapy
- Furaha-Joy Sekai Saungweme & Megan Cistulli (USA): Sexual violence in civil conflict: An overview of Africa's response
- Kelly M. Babchishin (Canada): From risk to rehabilitation: Best practices for supervising and treating individuals involved in child sexual exploitation materials
- Michael Miner(USA): Changing the paradigm? Exploring implications of recent findings on treatment and assessment of adolescent males
- Filip Szumski (Poland): Wysokie czy bardzo wysokie ryzyko recydywy? Możliwości oceny ryzyka recydywy sprawców na potrzeby Ustawy z 22.11.2013 (Engl.: High or very high recidivism risk? The possibilities of recidivism risk assessment under the Polish SVP law (the Act of 22 November 2013)) -> This workshop will be in Polish!