Use of child-like sex dolls an indication of perverted, criminal mind - Expert

SHAH ALAM - The use of adult-like sex dolls does not inherently indicate an underlying mental health issue, however, using child-like sex dolls is an entirely different matter as it may lead to a more serious problem.

Malaysian Mental Health Association president and consultant psychiatrist professor Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj said using child-like sex dolls would indicate a perverted, criminal mind and that action should be taken against them.

His comments came after reports of child-like sex dolls being publicly sold on an e-commerce platform, which had since been taken down.

“Buyers and sellers of such items should be liable for punitive action.

“The individuals using them can potentially pose a danger to children, in case they choose to act out their fantasies and compulsions in a real-life situation involving children who are vulnerable by definition.

“Such individuals should be monitored the same way those involved in child pornography are being monitored,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Andrew pointed out that the use of adult-like sex dolls would be a different case and it did not inherently indicate an underlying mental health issue as those who used child-like dolls.

“People may use sex dolls for various reasons, including sexual gratification, companionship, or as a form of expression.

“However, some individuals may have underlying psychological issues related to expressing intimacy, difficulty in social interaction, compulsive behaviour including abusive tendencies that may be reflected in their use of sex dolls.

“It is important to avoid generalisations or stigmatisation,” he said.

He added that the use of sex dolls becomes a red flag when there is a significant deterioration in the individual’s daily function, relationships, and overall well-being.

“In such cases, it would benefit them to seek professional support.

“Mental health professionals like psychiatrists and psychologists can provide individualised support to help navigate any psychological challenges they may be experiencing,” he said.

Meanwhile, counselling psychology expert associate professor Dr Fauziah Mohd Saad said some individuals chose to use dolls to replace prostitutes to save costs or because they were not in a relationship.

“However, the one that uses it intending to replace it with a real relationship with a woman will have further negative consequences, such as difficulty interacting or being in a relationship with a real woman.

“At the end of the day, it will be a mental health issue and leads to addiction which might lead to depression because they refused to be involved in a real relationship,” she said.

Commenting further, Mind Psychological Services and Training clinical psychologist and director Dr Joel Low pointed out that certain individuals had paraphilias where they could only achieve sexual arousal in atypical ways.

“For example, some people can be aroused by high heels, role-playing and some others uses sex dolls as part of their more intimate acts.

“Substitute their paraphilic items and their activities and behaviours are pretty much the same, just that their arousal object is a bit more unique,” he said.

Dr Low said that having paraphilia would result in someone having antisocial traits such as killing and abuse was wrong and he rejected the notion.

The selling of such dolls used for sexual gratifications had been discovered across e-commerce platforms, however it raised red flags when a Twitter user posted that her friend came across the child-like sex dolls with a price range of RM1,400 to RM1,500 each on Shopee.

Shopee had took down the post and banned the user from its platform, and encouraged users to file reports if they came across such postings.

Federal Police Criminal Investigation Department's Sexual, Women, and Child Investigations Division (D11) Assistant Director Superintendent Wong Pooi Lin confirmed receiving a report on the incident and said that police had launched a probe on the case.