There is currently a heated social debate about owning child sex dolls. Some of their supporters suggest that they offer safe sexual experiences for minors and that they could be used to prevent child sexual abuse.

On the other side, these kinds of child-like sex dolls are considered objects that, on the contrary, sexualize children, support deviant fantasies and increase the risk of criminal activity (pedophilia). So far, however, no empirical analyzes have been conducted with people who own such sex dolls, to result in an output that could confirm any particular claim.

Mini sex doll vs. child sex doll

Mini-realistic sex dolls and children‘s silicone dolls are often confused. At the same time, the difference between these two types of sex dolls is diametrical.

It is important to emphasize that mini sex dolls are produced to appeal to a wider audience and to make their maintenance and storage even easier for future owners. The same could be said about child-like realistic dolls, but the differences in body shapes and facial are huge.

In this article, we will not only talk about the specific differences but also how the legislation of various countries around the world deals with the issue of children’s sex dolls.

Difference: Mini or children’s sex doll

The size of mini sex dolls is the main reason why people often confuse them with children’s sex dolls. Body proportions are an important factor in distinguishing a mini sex doll from its child counterpart.

The vast majority of mini sex dolls have body proportions typical of an adult woman 18+ (as well as dolls from the Young category) but still have the features of an adult (wide hips, narrow waist, developed breasts, thighs, arms, and legs). So everything remains the same as in the case of dolls with the height of an adult woman. The proportions are preserved, only their “reduction” occurs. A doll with a height of 170 cm (66,9 inch) can therefore also be purchased, for example, with a height of 120 cm (46,7 inch). Many mini-sex dolls are inspired by anime and cosplay looks, which are characterized by large breasts and developed buttocks.

• The main advantages of mini sex dolls are mainly lower weight, easier handling, and storage.

On the contrary, child sex dolls are made to resemble not fully developed children between the ages of 5 and 12 with a height ranging from 50 cm  (19,6 inches) to 120 cm (46,7 inch). A flat chest and underdeveloped limbs (skinny arms and legs) added to childish, realistic facial features are good hallmarks of a child sex doll.

INTERESTING FACT: The price of a mini realistic doll is about 50% less compared to the price of a medium and tall sex doll. Regardless of the material used, mini sex dolls require less material, therefore they are cheaper. However, the legal and business risks associated with the production, sale, and distribution of child sex dolls encourage their sellers to raise their prices.

Marketplaces

Due to the outcry over online shopping websites that allow the sale of child sex dolls, many modern e-shops such as Amazon or AliExpress have taken careful but strict measures to ensure that no related goods are sold on their websites with child pornography.

•  These include adding an implicit size standard for items such as sex dolls. It is thus impossible to find dolls smaller than 140 cm (55,1 inch) in most e-shops.

Legislation

The sale and distribution of realistic child dolls are restricted and criminalized in most countries, with the measures and punishments varying in specific countries – from the possible confiscation of these erotic items to the imposition of a fine and the amount of the possible punishment for the seller. Before purchasing a child sex doll, it is necessary to check the laws of the specific country where the purchase takes place. And why is this so, even if it is essentially only a “thing”?

The answer is simple. In most countries of the world, children’s sex dolls are understood as “obscene material” and are much less welcome than other sex toys.

After several sex dolls with childlike features were seized at the borders of some Western countries, and in addition, several world-renowned e-shops such as Amazon banned the sale of these items, a debate opened about the legality of these realistic dolls, which are primarily intended for satisfying the so-called pedophile urges.

Different views

Some sectors argue that child erotica should be banned given that they may encourage child sexual abuse. Others, on the contrary, claim that it would be appropriate to allow them because they would direct the impulses of potential aggressors and limit this very serious issue.

Legislators, moral representatives, manufacturers, distributors, and also end consumers are involved in this debate; however, they are usually the sector that, logically, is often the least informed about the legality of the mentioned subjects.

So the question arises: Is it legal to own a child sex doll?

Countries that ban child sex doll

USA (several states, but not federal law), Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Maldives, and Singapore.

United States

As of October 2022, it is illegal to import, possess, and even sell child dolls in the entire United States, except for Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Specifically, the law in these states prohibits anyone from “knowingly having in the possession, custody or control of an obscene child sex doll” because owning such dolls encourages child predators (pedophiles).

Many states of the USA are always based specific cases as a priority, based on which they then regulate specific conditions and laws related to the mentioned issue. The latest and most obvious shift in American law is a case from Florida, based on which there is already talk of criminalizing the possession of such an object.

This view was supported by one-sided evidence from experts who claimed that the use of these dolls was likely to “reinforce pedophilic thoughts” in some, and given the risk of recidivism associated with this type of activity, pedophiles who gain access to these dolls could be positively reinforcing their behavior, which would pose a threat to children.

Conversely, opponents of the measure point out that being able to own these dolls may deter child predators from acting out their urges on real victims.

Australia

South Australia is the first Australian jurisdiction to officially ban lifelike child dolls after the state government agreed to support new legislation that would jail anyone for up to 10 years for making, selling, or possessing the children’s dolls.

No other Australian state or territory currently has comparable legislation. South Wales legislation prohibits the possession of child sex dolls, which was made clear in 2016 when a Sydney District Court judge ruled that a lifelike child doll could be classified as child abuse material.

In February 2019, a draft amendment to the Anti-Sexual Abuse of Children Act was presented to the Australian Parliament. This bill seeks to ban the possession of child sex dolls, as well as to criminalize the use of a shipping service to advertise or offer these sex toys and the use of a shipping service to ship such products.

From a societal perspective, it is widely known that any sexual activity involving children is unacceptable. All Australian jurisdictions understandably have laws prohibiting sexual activity with children and the possession, production, and distribution of child pornography.

Article: Australian man convicted of possessing child sex dolls

In contrast, the use of child sex dolls leads to neither legal nor moral victimization because the doll cannot experience harm. Their place in society is therefore a matter of debate. It is claimed that child sex dolls can be of “therapeutic” use for pedophiles, as they satisfy sexual urges that might otherwise be inflicted on children. With these supposed benefits in mind, it is proposed that child sex dolls be regulated by giving pedophiles access to them through psychiatrists.

Again, there is a contradictory opinion, which claims that these realistic dolls can increase users’ sexual desires for children and thus lead to an increase in crimes against real children. Even in Australia, however, the problem is that this topic is not sufficiently researched and very little is known about the real risk associated with the use of children’s sex dolls.

It is therefore likely that child sex dolls will be banned in all Australian jurisdictions before the research is definitive.

West countries

The United Kingdom (and the Commonwealth of Nations), Canada, and some European Union countries, such as Denmark, have banned the sale of children’s sex dolls.

Article: British police crackdown on child sex dolls

However, in these countries, it is not a crime to own or acquire such a doll. The sale itself is not affected unless the item is detained en route to the final consumer. Seizures occur at customs long before the product reaches its destination.

The European Union is currently starting a debate on the introduction of stricter restrictions on the sale of children’s sex dolls. As far as their possession is concerned, there is no talk of any regulation or introduction of any measures in this regard.

East Countries

Middle Eastern countries have a much stricter view of this issue. The Arab world prohibits the production, possession, distribution, and sale of any type of pornographic material, which includes sex toys of any kind, which means that owning a child sex doll is a criminal offense in these countries.

The same is true in other countries of the Middle and Far East, such as Malaysia, India, and Thailand. Criminal codes in these countries prohibit the possession of obscene goods.

Notable exceptions in Asia could be China and Japan, where the laws on this issue are unclear at best, both due to the ambiguity in the typification of these objects and the lack of a legal framework to either protect or criminalize the possession and distribution of these lifelike dolls.

The rest of the world

Since most other countries follow European and American legal standards, and obscenity, immorality, and child protection laws have not changed much over the years, it can be assumed that at least the import, distribution, and sale of child sex dolls is somewhat restricted. However, being caught in possession of a child sex doll would not be a crime, except to use that fact as evidence against the doll’s owner in a child abuse investigation.

•     In most countries around the world, either importation or distribution must be proven to be found guilty of a crime related to a child sex doll – except in countries where sex toys are prohibited by law.

•     Laws often affect the supply chain – from shippers to retailers, but do not affect manufacturers or end consumers.

•     In most countries, if the item was manufactured or stored in the country before the said doll was acquired, the buyer did not commit an offense.

•     While possession of a child sex doll may not be illegal, being caught in possession of child sex doll photos or videos of said sex doll is likely to be a criminal offense.

•     Possession of a child sex doll could also be used as evidence against the owner to initiate or pursue an investigation related to child abuse laws.

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