Today, possession of “child sex dolls” can be punished with imprisonment for three years. Four years ago, psychologist specialist Pål Grøndahl came up with a proposal that should immediately attract strong attention.
He suggested that sex dolls could be an important tool for preventing future child abuse.
Also read: Two cases of “child sex dolls” so far this year: – We have routines and systems
– Maybe we should allow someone to get such dolls on prescription. It may be an alternative for pedophiles who think it is okay to use a rubber doll as a substitute for a real sexual assault, Grondahl said to NRK that time.
Four years later, the psychologist abandoned the idea after being met with a violent backlash from the professional community and people in general.
– I got a lot of shut up from both professionals and the women in the street. Professionals came to me and said “you know people are talking about your proposal”. Some were upset and thought I had said something really silly, Grøndahl tells Nettavisen.
Also read: Lives with twelve sex dolls: – I can not imagine anything else (+)
– The time is not ripe
In 2020, 18 sex dolls depicting children were seized, while the number so far this year is two.
The psychologist emphasizes that he only asked a question if there could be a research interest, but admits that the problem is that there would not be so many people who could be examined for something like this.
– It’s difficult, but I just threw it out as an idea. It’s just about silicone, which must be better than human contact. But I do think that as of today we have received an offer that is nationwide and has a low-threshold profile. Then you do not quite see the need I suggested, interspersed with the fact that I think the time is not ripe yet, the psychologist believes.
He himself was previously involved in planning parts of the Special Outpatient Clinic Unit, also called the Department of Special Psychology, at Gaustad Hospital.
– We get to try out the treatment model there first and then see what kind of results we can get from it. This does not mean that I have in principle withdrawn the idea, but I see no reason to push any further, says Grondahl, who emphasizes that his proposal came at a time when there was no similar offer as today.
It is when sex dolls are produced as children that it falls under section 311 of the Penal Code, in which case it can be punished with up to three years’ imprisonment.
On the other hand, Grøndahl thinks it is too much.
– Yes, I think there are far too severe penalties. There is a way to criminalize people. In some cases it is quite marginal, but it has been found that one should take this politically. It is probably well-intentioned, but something I am very critical of, he says.
But will not allowing the use of such sex dolls maintain or reinforce the diagnosis?
– Well, there are two theories about what can happen: One is the catharsis part, where you actually get to release this and reduce the tension, or it has a reinforcing effect. If you first get access, you will have more and increase the intensity, and you may not settle down with the substitute, Grondahl explains.
Also read: 45-year-old convicted of buying a sex doll shaped like a child
– Hurts worse
The special psychologist adds that, as mentioned, there has not been much interest in taking part in the debate on the catharsis part.
Grondahl is now unsure whether society could ever accept his proposal, especially since pedophilia is among the most stigmatized diagnoses we have.
– The attitude is far from “hang them high”, but slightly older professional circles say that hanging them high makes more people anxious to say that they have such problems. They are afraid of being exposed, of being stigmatized, and then they go underground and keep quiet instead, he says and adds:
– In that sense, the nationwide offer that exists now is what one should look at as the best offer so far. To stigmatize only hurts for the worse; one may go into hiding, seek out like-minded circles, or maintain the same vicious circle.
Grondahl believes that the stigma society maintains is only directly counterproductive.
– We know that the risk of new abuses decreases if people get rehabilitated. Once you have taken your punishment, come back, get a job and move into a home, the risk is further reduced.
He still adds that some need treatment, but not all are deleted. Some people need it to get on the right keel, but there are alternatives.
80 treatments
Psychologist specialist Martin Sjøly in the Norwegian Directorate of Health, who is behind the treatment offer detfinneshjelp.no, tells Nettavisen that they started their service on 1 September 2020.
– We see that during the first year the offer has existed, there have been over 80 people who have been in active treatment and sought treatment. Several of these have also been terminated and completed, he says about the offer that will prevent sexual abuse of children.
Also read: Pedophile used mass mailing to get in touch with children
The hospitals that run the treatment were originally located in Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger, but in 2021 similar services were opened in Trondheim and Tromsø as well.
– Why have you not come up with such an offer before?
– It started with Save the Children coming up with a report in 2017 where they emphasized that there is a need for such an offer. The Norwegian Directorate of Health was then commissioned to develop the offer because it did not exist before. There were some individual offers in the Department of Clinical Sexologist and Therapy (IKST), but they had a different strategy. “There is help” has a different professional basis, and we have now received a national offer for the first time, says Sjøly.
He adds that Norway is one of the few countries in the world that has such a low-threshold offer on a national basis.
In parallel with the clinic, the Norwegian Directorate of Health has also established research for those who volunteer from the treatment.
– Only in a few years will we be able to say something about the effect of the treatment – whether it works and who it may affect, says Sjøly.
also read
Two cases of “child sex dolls” so far this year: – We have routines and systems
–
