Rights statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Review of Law, Computers and Technology on 21/04/2019, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13600869.2019.1600870
Accepted author manuscript, 486 KB, PDF document
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Child sex dolls and robots
T2 - challenging the boundaries of the child protection framework
AU - Chatterjee, Bela Bonita
N1 - This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Review of Law, Computers and Technology on 21/04/2019, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13600869.2019.1600870
PY - 2020/1/2
Y1 - 2020/1/2
N2 - Foreign-made child sex dolls are now commercially available online, and recent cases indicate that their importation is a criminal offence. However, whilst there are growing calls for criminalisation, it is unclear as to where the law stands in relation to them and their robotic counterparts. This article seeks to initiate debate by asking; could and should child sex dolls and robots be caught by the child protection framework? Considering core offences, it explores whether and where such items might fit within the current law. The argument proposed is that that whilst there may be patchy coverage no single statute provides a convincing match. Drawing analogies to legal debates on child pornography, the article considers various justifications for criminalisation. Following a harm-based perspective, it proposes new crimes under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (‘SOA’) which address the creation, distribution and possession of child sex dolls and robots where a real child is involved in their creation. Where sex dolls and robots are fantasy creations, it is argued that different considerations arise and it is difficult to justify the same range of restrictions. Accordingly, separate SOA offences are suggested with exception made for selfmade artefacts that are intended solely for private use.
AB - Foreign-made child sex dolls are now commercially available online, and recent cases indicate that their importation is a criminal offence. However, whilst there are growing calls for criminalisation, it is unclear as to where the law stands in relation to them and their robotic counterparts. This article seeks to initiate debate by asking; could and should child sex dolls and robots be caught by the child protection framework? Considering core offences, it explores whether and where such items might fit within the current law. The argument proposed is that that whilst there may be patchy coverage no single statute provides a convincing match. Drawing analogies to legal debates on child pornography, the article considers various justifications for criminalisation. Following a harm-based perspective, it proposes new crimes under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (‘SOA’) which address the creation, distribution and possession of child sex dolls and robots where a real child is involved in their creation. Where sex dolls and robots are fantasy creations, it is argued that different considerations arise and it is difficult to justify the same range of restrictions. Accordingly, separate SOA offences are suggested with exception made for selfmade artefacts that are intended solely for private use.
KW - Child Sex Dolls
KW - Child Sex Robots
KW - Criminal law
KW - Protection of Children Act
KW - Coroners and Justice Act
KW - Sexual Offences Act
KW - Obscene Publications Acts
KW - Child protection
U2 - 10.1080/13600869.2019.1600870
DO - 10.1080/13600869.2019.1600870
M3 - Journal article
VL - 34
SP - 22
EP - 43
JO - International Review of Law, Computers and Technology
JF - International Review of Law, Computers and Technology
SN - 1360-0869
IS - 1
ER -