Federal Constitutional Court Upholds Ban on Child Sex Dolls

The Second Senate's decision was reached by six votes to two. In its balancing of interests, the Court assigned greater weight to the protection of the physical, psychological, and sexual integrity of children than to the interests of the complainants. The legislature had in this respect "von seinem Einschätzungsspielraum in vertretbarer Weise Gebrauch gemacht," according to the reasoning. The state in this area is not only entitled but obligated to protect children.

Background of the Proceedings

Background of the Proceedings

Reasoning of the Legislature

The ban had entered into force on July 1, 2021, as part of the Act to Combat Sexualized Violence Against Children. "2021 schob der Gesetzgeber dem jedoch einen Riegel vor und verschärfte das Strafgesetzbuch," the court noted in the proceedings. The Bundestag passed the law in March 2021 with the votes of CDU/CSU, SPD, and AfD; the remaining three opposition factions abstained.

Criticism from the Legal Profession

Reasoning of the Legislature

Academic Assessment

To justify the new ban, the draft law introduced by the then-coalition factions of Union and SPD stated that there was a danger that the use of such sex dolls would lower the threshold for committing sexualized violence against children. Manufacturers and sellers have since faced prison sentences of up to five years or fines.

Dissenting Opinion by Judge Offenloch

Criticism from the Legal Profession

Statistics from Crime Records

During the legislative process, attorney Jenny Lederer warned in an expert hearing before the Bundestag against further criminalization of behaviors for which it had not been scientifically proven that they lead to sexualized violence against children involving direct physical contact between perpetrator and victim. "Kein Kind wird geschädigt, keines gefährdet," Lederer said with regard to the possession and use of such dolls. "Letztlich werden Fantasien bestraft," the attorney continued. The German Bar Association stated in a position paper published in 2024 on the Federal Ministry of Justice's key issues paper that the criminalization "war, ist und bleibt" incomprehensible.

Parallel Proceedings Against Shein

Academic Assessment

Psychiatrist and sex researcher Johannes Fuß of the University of Duisburg-Essen explained that it is known that some users reported losing interest in real persons through the use of such dolls. However, it is unknown whether these users exhibit an elevated risk of perpetrating sexualized violence against children. The evidence that the ban serves child protection and deters potential offenders is "schwach." Researchers at the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Sexual Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen had surveyed 40 individuals affected by the ban and concluded in the "Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung" that, from their perspective, the ban has a negative impact on their lives and on the risk of sexualized violence against children. The study authors did, however, acknowledge that the study design has limitations with regard to the question of whether the ban serves child protection.

Dissenting Opinion by Judge Offenloch

Judge Thomas Offenloch issued a dissenting opinion to the decision. In it, he characterized the ban as "Moralgesetzgebung ohne hinreichend rationale Grundlage." Covert autoerotic acts such as masturbation, he wrote, are an ideal-typical example of behavior that falls within the core area of private life. The ban also leads—according to the affected individuals surveyed by the researchers—to an increase in problematic behaviors among some of them, such as renewed consumption of abuse imagery.

Statistics from Crime Records

According to the Police Crime Statistics, between 2022 and 2025 there were a total of 185 cases in connection with Section 184l, in which 165 suspects—including five women—were identified.

Parallel Proceedings Against Shein

Independently of the Karlsruhe proceedings, the EU Commission had opened a formal proceeding against the Chinese online retailer Shein, among other things because it had offered childlike-looking sex dolls. The Brussels authority accuses the company of not doing enough to combat the distribution of illegal products on its platform and of neglecting consumer protection. The online giant itself removed the listings from its site following criticism and announced that it would cooperate with the EU Commission in the proceedings.