What Is the ATSA Strategic Research Agenda and What Does It Cover?

The ATSA Strategic Research Agenda is a research-priority document from the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse, presented on atsa.com as “Forty Years in the Making.” It sets out where ATSA believes research should go next in the assessment, treatment, and management of individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to abuse. It is a framework for research direction, not a treatment protocol, a clinical guideline, or a membership benefit—so it is most useful to researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and students who want to know what the field's main professional association is prioritizing.

What the agenda is

ATSA describes itself as an international, multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse, and says it promotes sound research, effective evidence-based practice, informed public policy, and collaborative community strategies. The Strategic Research Agenda is the research arm of that mission made explicit: a statement of priorities intended to connect research to practice and policy.

The “forty years” framing refers to the accumulation of the field's research base that the agenda is meant to build on and organize. The page presents it as a headline item alongside upcoming webinars and the annual conference, which signals that ATSA treats it as a core organizational product rather than a one-off publication.

What it covers

The site's own summary of ATSA's mission maps onto the agenda's scope. Based on the page evidence, the agenda is oriented around:

• Assessment — empirically based approaches to evaluating individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to abuse.
• Treatment — evidence-based practice and effective intervention.
• Management — how individuals are managed in ways that support community safety.
• Prevention — reducing sexual abuse perpetration, including shifting narratives around prevention.
• Policy translation — informing public policy and advocating for best practice, so research findings feed into decisions rather than staying academic.

ATSA's stated core values—professional excellence, community safety, collaboration, and advocacy—are the lens the agenda is framed through. The organization's stated philosophy is that empirically based assessment, practice, management, and policies enhance community safety, reduce sexual recidivism, protect victims and vulnerable populations, and point toward preventing sexual abuse.

The page does not list individual research questions, funding targets, or timelines. To see the actual priority areas, you need to open the full agenda via the “Read the Full Agenda” link on the homepage.

How to use it

1. Go to atsa.com and locate the “ATSA Strategic Research Agenda” section on the homepage.
2. Select “Read the Full Agenda” to open the document.
3. Read it with a specific purpose: if you are a researcher, use it to align study questions with the field's stated priorities; if you are a practitioner or policymaker, use it to see where evidence is expected to develop.

Expected result: you come away with a clear picture of ATSA's research priorities and can judge whether your own work, funding case, or policy argument fits them.

Common sticking point: treating the agenda as clinical guidance. It describes research direction; it does not tell a practitioner how to assess or treat a specific individual.

Where it fits among ATSA's other resources

If your question is “what should the field be studying,” start with the agenda. If your question is “how do I apply this in practice,” the webinars, conference, and journal are the better entry points.

Who it is for

The agenda is relevant if you are a researcher shaping a study or grant proposal, an educator building curriculum, a policymaker who needs to cite the field's own priorities, or a practitioner who wants to understand the evidence base behind assessment and treatment. It is less useful if you are looking for a specific referral, a training certificate, or immediate operational guidance—those are served by the referral, events, and library links instead.