apart from Shein, ads present on several sites, including AliExpress, eBay and Vinted

Chinese e-commerce giant Shein announced on Saturday that it had “immediately” removed ads featuring these sex dolls from its platform. But on Monday similar announcements could still be viewed on other online sites.

Asian e-commerce giant Shein has been under fire again since Saturday, November 1, for putting on sale a sex doll representing a child with a teddy bear in her hand. Shein removed “immediately” of its platform of child pornography sex dolls after a report from the DGCCRF, the General Directorate for Competition and Fraud Repression, to the French justice system. The platform will be summoned before MPs within two weeks, the information mission on controls of products imported into France announced on Monday.

Another Chinese site is also in the crosshairs of the French authorities for having also put on sale a doll representing a child: AliExpress. But Chinese sites are not the only ones. Many sites in France sell sex dolls representing very young people.

Almost all of the sex dolls found on sales sites are very young, all minor in appearance. They are all small, most under 1m60, very fine, very realistic since they are made of silicone. For example, on the Sex Dolls Europe sex shop website, the buyer can select the size. By selecting the category “less than 1m25”, for example, almost all sex dolls are children. They all have a first name. Some even wear schoolgirl outfits, others teenage outfits. It’s an official site, a company registered in the United States, with offices and storage in France for customer support and logistics. Payment in three installments without fees possible and free delivery.

Second-hand product resale sites also offer child sex dolls. Some have breasts but a prepubescent body, others have no breasts at all. An ad on the Lithuanian site Vinted presents a “articulated erotic doll”. The 430 euro doll is clearly less than ten years old. The ad seen on Sunday has since been removed.

Also on eBay, for example, is a clearly very young-looking doll, wearing children’s underwear. Sometimes, in the title of the advertisements, it is even specified “virgin”.

It remains very difficult to avoid these kinds of announcements and prosecute the perpetrators. However, it is child crime. In France, the law allows the administrative authority to issue an injunction to the platform to delete illegal content within 24 hours. This is what was done for Shein. If the content has not been removed within this period, the administrative authority may contact Internet service providers (Free, Orange, SFR, Bouygues) and search engines to have the site blocked and dereferenced.

Concerning the Shein case, the Fraud Prevention Department contacted the public prosecutor on Sunday, November 2, the investigation is underway. Shein claims to have removed the ad. But according to Arnaud Gallais, founder of the Mouv’Enfants collective, which fights against sexual violence against minors, Shein “lies”. “The dolls are still on sale on the platform. On Shein in Great Britain, Spain, Chile, you can find them, and with a VPN you can have them delivered to France”he told AFP on Monday. He recalls that“at the home of Joël Le Scouarnec, the doctor who caused more than 300 victims, we found a collection of sex dolls bearing the likeness of children”. The former surgeon was sentenced to 20 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.

High Commissioner for Children Sarah El Haïry spoke on franceinfo on Monday about discussions with Shein to obtain customer contacts. She recalls that in general, these dolls are used by pedophiles who commit violent acts against real children. Sarah El Haïry announces that she has “engaged in broader controls” And “procedures on other platforms” than Shein.