Fears child sex dolls 'could bridge the gap between fantasy and reality' for paedophiles as illegal imports into Australia increase
- Paedophiles who use child sex dolls are only worsening their urges, report says
- Researchers say while the topic is under researched, the risk cannot be ignored
- Last year there were 15 child sex doll seizure in Australian airports
Paedophiles who use child sex dolls could escalate into physically abusing children, a new report has warned.
There is nothing to support the sick theory that paedophiles who use child sex dolls will decrease their urges to carry out sex abuse on children, the Australian Institute of Criminology reported.
Their report said child sex dolls could be used to groom real children for sexual abuse.
Experts said parallels between life-like dolls and real children encourage paedophiles to act out their urges
'It may... desensitise the user from the potential harm that child sexual assault causes, given that such dolls give no emotional feedback,' the report said.
Child sex dolls today are mainly manufactured out of China, Hong Kong, and Japan, and researchers are worried that because they are 'life-like,' it puts children in harm's way.
Report authors Rick Browne and Jane Shelling said potential offenders who view child pornography and go on to use child sex dolls should be considered dangerous.
78 Child dolls were seized in 2017-2017 and last year only 15 were seized.
However the report authors said no deep research shows the numbers of child sex dolls entering Australia undetected.
'Escalation in relation to child sex dolls refers to the possibility that such devices may promote a continuum of behaviour that results in contact child sexual offending...' the report said.
While there is a steep drop from 2016's seizures to last year's, experts are concerned the numbers are getting higher
'When combined with a general preference for physical representations over virtual ones, there is a plausible argument that some individuals may migrate from viewing child exploitation material to engaging with a child sex doll.'
The AIC report also said that child sex doll possession laws across Australian states were not identical or clear enough to combat the exploitation of child abuse material.
While current legislation says child sex dolls classifies as child abuse material, it remains largely untested in Australian courts.
If someone is found importing a child sex doll by the Australian Border Force, the accused could land up to 10 years in jail and $525,000 in fines.
