Originally Published at The Christian Post
By Blake Fussell
After a petition was launched against the Poppy doll featuring a button under its skirt that makes gasping and giggling sounds, Hasbro announced last week that it’s pulling the toy from retailers. The game company said it was “not intentional” and that the doll was meant to react when seated.
Jake Roberson of The National Center on Sexual Exploitation argued that companies should have experts on staff, given that “sexual predators already use toys for child sexual abuse, grooming purposes and enticement.”
“It should have been caught pretty early on within a company to say, ‘Hey, we can’t put this type of button with these types of reactions on the genitals of a dolls,” Roberson told CP.
“We recognize that poor design decisions can occur in ignorance but we think it’s irresponsible of those who make products for children to not have experts and processes in place to catch highly problematic designs like this early on.”
While applauding the decision to remove the toy from the market, Roberson stressed the importance of raising awareness moving forward.
