A proposal to make it a criminal offence to make or possess child-like sex dolls in England and Wales passed a crucial stage in the House of Commons this morning.
Importing child-like sex dolls (CSA dolls) into the UK is illegal, but there is currently no criminal punishment for possessing one.
Munira Wilson, a liberal democrats MP for Twickenham, proposed the Child-like Sexual Abuse Dolls (Offences) Bill 2026 in August, which would make it illegal to make, possess, import, supply or offer to supply a CSA doll.
Wilson said: “I’m astounded that anyone would think it’s okay to use these things.
“I felt sick and horrified that these things even existed, let alone the fact that they were actually legal to own in this country.”
CSA dolls come in various forms and sizes, but most of them are girls and some seized have been as small as babies.
“Having seen and indeed felt some of these objects that the police brought for me they’re just revolting and vile.
“The sooner we get rid of them, the sooner we make our children in this country safer.”
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned child-like sex dolls are being sold freely on websites such as Amazon for around £1,000.
In 2017, the National Crime Agency and Border Force started Operation Shiraz, which targets the importation of CSA dolls.
These items are commonly imported through parcel carriers, often from China or Hong Kong.
Wilson said: “Because there is a lack of legislation in this area, obviously the issue hasn’t been monitored so we don’t really have an idea of numbers at the minute.”
“The police and the national crime agency have shared with me examples where they’ve gone to investigate other potential faces at someone’s house. But they can’t prosecute or seize the CSA dolls, so the numbers of them aren’t tracked.”
But the The Crown Prosecution Service has said there may be a “potential link” between possessing of the dolls and sexual offending against children.
Wilson said: “Using one of these things eventually makes the person desensitised to what they are doing and they no longer get the pleasure, or hit, from using it, and are therefore, more likely to abuse a child in real life.
“So it is part of a ladder of escalation of harms to children.”
This comes as the volume of sexual offences recorded by the police has steadily increased over the last decade, according to the Office for National Statistics.
If successful, the Bill would bring the possession of a CSA doll on par with possessing indecent images of children.
Wilson, who is the Liberal Democrats’ Education, Children and Families Spokesperson, expressed additional concern over the fact that these dolls can be “custom-made to order.”
She said: “My worry is that with technological advances, people will be able to order dolls that are made to look like a real child based on a specific image.
“That’s not beyond the realm of possibly with AI now.”
Other countries, such as Australia, Canada and Germany, have already taken similar steps to prohibit CSA dolls or to treat them as a form of child abuse material.
The next reading of the Bill would likely take place around February, where it will have undergo two more stages before being sent to the House of Lords.
Wilson said the biggest obstacle to getting this law passed through would be if there was a general election called.
This is because Private Members’ Bills that haven’t completed all stages before a general election is called, or before a parliament session is prorogued, will automatically expire.
Wilson said: “Beyond that, given that I’ve got support government support and cross-party support, certainly in the Commons, I don’t envision any problems.”
She added: “I hope that given the vile nature of child-like sexual abuse dolls, that it will be highly uncontroversial to pass this legislation through.”
The Bill passed its first and second readings in the House of Commons on the 16th of June and 4th September, respectively.
Amazon declined to comment.
Featured image credit: Charlotte Ambrose
