Washington, DC (August 10, 2020) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) said that Hasbro’s decision to remove its Poppy Trolls doll after concerns that it “grooms children for abuse,” was the right move, but questions how the doll ever made it to market in the first place at a time when child sexual abuse is likely at an all-time high. The New York Post reported that, “The toy giggles and laughs at the press of a button, which is located between the doll’s legs, where genitalia would be on a person.”
“While Hasbro pulled the Trolls doll from store shelves, we have to question how a female doll that encourages children to press a button between her legs to make the doll giggle and laugh ever made it to market. Isn’t there anyone on Hasbro’s staff that could recognize that this is clearly grooming children to accept that it’s normal to touch someone else’s private area? We demand that Hasbro, and all toy companies, develop a child protection policy that includes an expert on child sexual abuse reviewing products to ensure that toys like this never make it to market,” said Dawn Hawkins, senior vice president and executive director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“Sexual predators often use toys to groom children for sexual abuse and exploitation. Corporations, especially those catering to children like Hasbro, must be part of the solution to curb child sexual abuse by improving internal policies, products, and marketing.”
