B4U-ACT
{{Short description|American anti-sexual abuse organization}}
{{Infobox organization
| logo = B4U-ACT Logo.png
| formation = 2003
| founder = Michael Melsheimer, Russell Dick
| status = Nonprofit organization
| headquarters = Baltimore
| location_city = Westminster, Maryland
| location_country = United States
| board_of_directors = Russell A. Dick
| publication = B4U-ACT Quarterly Review
| website = https://www.b4uact.org/
}}
B4U-ACT ({{Lit|Before you act}}) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Baltimore{{Cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Rebecca A. |last2=Barrett |first2=Marna S. |last3=Sisti |first3=Dominic A. |date=2013 |title=The Ethical Boundaries of Patient and Advocate Influence on DSM-5 |url=https://journals.lww.com/00023727-201311000-00004 |journal=Harvard Review of Psychiatry |language=en |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages=334–344 |doi=10.1097/HRP.0000000000000010 |issn=1067-3229|url-access=subscription }} that works to prevent child sexual abuse by providing resources and treatment for people with minor-attraction.{{Citation |last1=Christiansen |first1=Candice |title=Prevention in Action: Exploring Prevention Initiatives and Current Practices |date=2018 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-98243-4_2 |work=Sexual Crime and Prevention |pages=27–56 |editor-last=Lievesley |editor-first=Rebecca |access-date=2023-10-31 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-98243-4_2 |isbn=978-3-319-98242-7 |last2=Martinez-Dettamanti |first2=Meg |editor2-last=Hocken |editor2-first=Kerensa |editor3-last=Elliott |editor3-first=Helen |editor4-last=Winder |editor4-first=Belinda|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web |last=Tereszcuk |first=Alexis |date=2023-05-11 |title=Fact Check: NO Evidence Pastel Rainbow 'MAP' Flag Signifies Normalizing Pedophilia |url=https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2023/05/fact-check-no-evidence-pastel-rainbow-map-flag-signifies-normalizing-pedophilia.html |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=Lead Stories |language=en-US}}
Background
B4U-ACT was founded in 2003 by Russell Dick and Michael Melsheimer.{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Another shocking scandal at Mermaids |url=https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/10/04/another-shocking-scandal-at-mermaids/ |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=Spiked |language=en-GB}}{{Cite news |last=Bleyer |first=Jennifer |date=2012-09-24 |title=How Can We Stop Pedophiles? |language=en-US |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/technology/2012/09/stop-childhood-sexual-abuse-how-to-treat-pedophilia.html |access-date=2023-10-31 |issn=1091-2339}} Melsheimer was a former YMCA director that served four years in a federal prison for aggravated sexual assault involving children and Dick a former director of social work of the Springfield Hospital Center.
B4U-ACT aims to connect people attracted to minors with mental health resources, including empirical research on minor-attraction, peer support groups, and therapists trained in working with the minor-attracted population.https://www.b4uact.org/about-us/{{Cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1=Lisa J. |last2=Ndukwe |first2=Nwayieze |last3=Siegfried |first3=Rachel |last4=Kopeykina |first4=Irina |last5=Yaseen |first5=Zimri S. |last6=Galynker |first6=Igor |date=2018 |title=Attraction Versus Action in Pedophilic Desire: The Role of Personality Traits and Childhood Experience |url=https://journals.lww.com/00131746-201811000-00002 |journal=Journal of Psychiatric Practice |language=en |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=374–387 |doi=10.1097/PRA.0000000000000348 |issn=1538-1145|url-access=subscription }} Since 2021, the organization has published a quarterly journal collecting reviews of current research relevant to minor attraction.https://www.b4uact.org/b4qr/ As of 2008, the organization had approximately 25 members.
During the development of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), B4U-ACT criticized the proposal of the American Psychiatric Association's Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group regarding the inclusion of hebephilia as a subtype of pedophilia in the DSM-5.
In October 2022, a member of transgender charity group Mermaids resigned from office after it was reported that he had spoken at a 2011 event organized by B4U-ACT.