New law to ban depraved child-like sexual abuse dolls

The government has backed a new law banning depraved child-like sexual abuse dolls. 

The Child-like Sexual Abuse Dolls (Offences) Private Members' Bill, which progressed to committee stage today, will make it illegal to buy, sell or own these vile dolls. Anyone caught with one could face up to 5 years behind bars.

Police have encountered these items while investigating child sexual abuse suspects and when monitoring registered sex offenders, but current legislation does not provide a specific offence for owning or making these dolls. By closing this crucial loophole, the bill will give police greater powers, stopping abusers and helping to prevent them from harming real children.

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Satvir Kaur said:

Children must be protected from sexual abuse in every form online, offline and wherever the threat appears.

As the mum of a young child myself, I am horrified these disturbing dolls even exist. This new law will mean we can seize them and prosecute anyone involved in their sick trade.

This government is supporting this bill as part of our drive to expose abuse sooner, disrupt offenders faster and protect more vulnerable children from these horrors.

The bill builds on tough new measures in the Crime and Policing Act to intensify the response to both online and contact child sexual abuse. These include:

• bringing in a mandatory duty for people in key roles to report suspected child sexual abuse
• creating a new offence for anyone interfering with the duty to report
• making grooming an aggravating factor when courts sentence child sexual offences
• world-leading new offences to fight the rising tide of AI child sexual abuse material
• giving Border Force more powers to stop digital child sexual abuse material at our borders

These legal efforts are buttressed by historic levels of funding. The government recently announced a record £100 million to combat child sexual abuse, improve the police response to these crimes, go after offenders and give victims and survivors the protection and support they need.

Abigail Gill, Acting Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the NSPCC, said: 

We are pleased to see this bill pass its second reading in Parliament and strongly support its continued progress. The bill, which seeks to criminalise the manufacture, distribution and possession of childlike sexual abuse dolls, is an important step towards closing a dangerous gap in the law.

There is no comprehensive evidence that the use of these grotesque dolls prevents potential offenders from committing contact offences against children. In fact, using these dolls or other realistic props could risk adults becoming desensitised, as is often seen among those who view indecent images.

Anything that appears to normalise or mimic the abuse of children and young people is dangerous and unacceptable. We urge the government to continue backing this bill to ensure it becomes law so that no child is left at risk of harm.

Gabrielle Shaw, Chief Executive, NAPAC said:

Survivors know the devastating consequences of a culture in which the sexualisation of children is tolerated or minimised. Whether through child-like sex dolls or the misuse of online technologies, there should be no means by which children can be sexualised for adult gratification. NAPAC welcomes the steps the government is taking to make it clear that no product, platform or technology should be designed or used in this way.

Lynn Perry, Chief Executive of Barnardo's, said:

Products that deliberately replicate the bodies of children for sexual purposes have no place in our society. They normalise harmful attitudes towards children and no one should be able to profit from this.

This bill sends a clear message the sexualisation of children in any form is completely unacceptable.

Naomi Miles, CEO of CEASE (Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation)

CEASE welcomes the government's support for this hugely important bill to ban child-like sexual abuse dolls. This is an important step forward for child protection we applaud the government for listening to the evidence and backing decisive action to close this dangerous legislative gap. It sends a clear and welcome signal that there should be no place in our society for products that risk normalising the sexual abuse of children.

With the government now firmly behind this bill as it progresses through Parliament, we need to see the same courage and urgency applied to digital equivalents of child-like sexual abuse dolls.