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A new report has found child-like sex dolls may "bridge the gap between fantasy and reality" for potential paedophiles by allowing them to carry out physical acts. The Australian Institute of Criminology published a report on the implications of child-like sex dolls this week, finding there was nothing to support the "hotly debated" theory that the dolls could give paedophiles a way to satisfy their urges without acting on their fantasies with real children. While acknowledging the topic was under-researched, report authors Rick Brown and Jane Shelling found it was reasonable to assume that interaction with child-like sex dolls could increase the likelihood of the user going on to commit child sexual abuse. The report comes as Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton attempts to ban the possession of such dolls in Australia after what he called an "abhorrent" trend that has seen increasing numbers of the dolls imported. An Australian Border Force spokesman said child-like sex dolls were seized at the country's borders on fewer than 10 occasions annually in the three years to 2015-16. The number of seizures grew significantly to 78 in 2016-17, before dropping back to 15 last financial year. Importing child-like sex dolls is punishable in Australia by up to 10 years in jail and fines of up to $525,000. When the dolls are detected at the border, they are automatically seized. "Where ABF officers find additional evidence of child exploitation material it is referred to the appropriate federal and state authorities for investigation," the Border Force spokesman said. While the importation laws are clear, Mr Dutton last month introduced draft laws in the federal parliament that would clarify legislation relating to the possession of child-like sex dolls across the country. A man was jailed in NSW in 2016 for possession of a child-like sex doll after a judge ruled that it could be classified as child abuse material, but the Institute of Criminology report found possession laws in other jurisdictions was not as clear. "Legislation in other states and territories could also be used to prohibit child sex dolls, although this largely remains untested in the courts," the report said. In February, Mr Dutton told the House of Representatives his new laws would be a "comprehensive, technology-neutral and future-focused response" to protect children from abuse. "In particular, the bill will clarify the law to ensure that the abhorrent new trend of child-like sex dolls, used to simulate sexual intercourse with children, is clearly and robustly stamped out in Australia," Mr Dutton said. The Institute of Criminology report authors found despite a lack of robust evidence around child sex dolls, there was "reason to suggest they may lead to societal harms". "They may bridge the gap between fantasy and reality by allowing potential offenders to move from the virtual world to the physical world," the report said. They said the dolls desensitised the user to the physical, emotional and psychological harm caused by child sexual abuse and normalised the behaviour in the mind of the abuser. "Child sex dolls continue to fuel the fantasy perception of children as sexual beings, further supported by the lack of negative feedback received from a doll," the report said. The finding backed up 2017 research by City University of New York academics, which found such dolls were typically silent and gave no emotional feedback to the abuser, or in the case of some robotic models, gave only positive responses. "[Child-like sex dolls] fail to provide paedophiles with accurate emotional feedback from aggressive actions, particularly ones that would result in emotional and physical damage if performed on a real child," the US research found.

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