Legislation to ban child-like sexual abuse dolls has cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons, with MPs backing the Child-like Sexual Abuse Dolls (Offences) Bill on Friday. The private member's bill, sponsored by Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson, would criminalise the possession, sale and manufacture of such dolls across England and Wales, closing what she called a "dangerous" legal gap by treating possession on a par with holding indecent images of children.

Currently, owning such a doll is not a UK offence, though importing one can be prosecuted under the Customs Consolidation Act 1876. The Bill, which passed without debate and now moves to committee stage, would let police seize the dolls and see offenders jailed and monitored; it covers any item "resembling a child or any part of a child" to close loopholes. It still needs approval from both the Commons and the Lords to become law. The NSPCC and England's Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, both welcomed the move, warning the dolls risk normalising or desensitising adults to child abuse.