It’s illegal to import or possess them, but child-like sex dolls can be bought online. Each seizure is an opportunity to prevent real child sex abuse.

Importing these products is illegal. Possession is also a Commonwealth offence carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.

Available figures indicate the scale is significant, but difficult to track consistently. The Department of Home Affairs recorded 103 detections in 2020–21, 88 in 2021–22 and 29 in 2022–23.

An Australian Institute of Criminology review called for more research in the area, but identified plausible risks involved with owning them, including desensitisation, sexual objectification of children, escalation and use in grooming.

The appropriate response is therefore neither to dismiss these objects as harmless fantasy nor to treat possession as automatic proof of future offending. It’s to recognise them as potential risk indicators that may justify investigation.

  • busted_Anoose@aussie.zoneEnglish
    7·
    4 hours ago

    What id like to know is are there places these potential sex offenders can go to seek therapy without the threat of imprisonment or being put on a list? I’d like to think we could probably prevent a lot more offending if it was treated as a real mental issue and people encouraged to seek help instead of waiting until after another poor kid gets their life ruined before there’s any chance at tackling the problem.