Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Pressure is growing for a ban to be introduced on the sale and usage of childlike sex dolls – reportedly available on Amazon – despite some suggestions that they could be used as therapy for paedophiles.
In the UK, it is not illegal to possess a child sex doll although prosecutions are possible for anybody who is caught importing them as they could be regarded as “obscene goods”.
In the UK guidelines for prosecutors it also notes that it is illegal to post images of child sex dolls or to send them in the post to anybody else.(https://bit.ly/3fS84yu)
But despite that, increasingly the realistic looking sex dolls designed to appear as if they were children are being confiscated by police and border officials across Europe.
Only a few days ago Australian campaign group Collective Shout revealed that they were being sold on Chinese online retailer Alibaba, where they were sold to descriptions like “young girl” or “flat chest”.
They even found one the size of a 6-month-old baby.
When the items were exposed as being for sale on the site, Alibaba acted to remove them, but pressure is now drawing for them to be made illegal despite some campaigners saying they should be made available as therapy for paedophiles.
German newspaper Bild have even reported that some childlike erotic dolls are available on retail giant Amazon.
The campaign for the ban is being led by politicians in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia who have prepared a 2 page draft to be considered by the national government which they want to introduce legislation.
It reads: “In the absence of corresponding legal barriers, German customs has no means of stopping the import of these repulsive and disturbing satisfaction accessories. In this way, real-life abuse material remains freely available, which lowers inhibitions and enables the abuse of children and adolescents to be practised, probably even promoted.”
It continues with the demand for penalties saying: “The import, trade, production and sale of such disgusting child sex dolls must therefore be prohibited as soon as possible and property must be punished. The federal legislature is required to take immediate legislative action.”
The initiative by the CDU which is the largest party in NRW then urges the regional government “to work as quickly as possible by means of a Federal Council initiative to ban the import, trade, production and sale of child sex dolls and to punish their possession”.
The CDU spokesman for child protection in the NRW regional parliament is Christina Schulze Focking, 43, who said: “By selling children’s sex dolls, the abuse is downplayed. We have to put a stop to this.
“Sex dolls that are consciously modelled on small children must be prohibited. Anyone who buys something like that is perverted!”
And the CDU’s legal spokesman, Angela Erwin, 40, added: “The CDU stands for zero tolerance for child abuse. It is therefore consistent and logical for us that possession and trading in these disgusting child sex dolls are prohibited.
“At the same time, the criminal consequences with which the violations are to be punished in the future are also decisive. The fight against child abuse can only succeed if it is done holistically. Such hideous dummy children further promote acts of abuse by lowering the inhibitors’ thresholds. We cannot tolerate that.”
However a leading therapist from the Specialist Treatment Organization for the Prevention of Sexual Offending (StopSO) charity sparked outrage when she suggested they be used to treat paedophiles.
Juliet Grayson, a registered psychosexual therapist, was quoted as saying: “For someone who has an exclusive attraction to children, there is no legal way for them to satisfy their desires apart from masturbating to an image in their own head as they’re not allowed to look at pictures or even draw a drawing. I do know of a man who had children dolls – he had two and was very happy to use them rather than touching a child. This wasn’t great but better than nothing.”
The charity reportedly has 200 therapists working to help people who have an attraction to children.
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