Anatomically correct doll

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An anatomically correct doll or anatomically precise doll is a doll that depicts some of the primary and secondary sex characteristics of a human for educational purposes. A very detailed type of anatomically correct doll may be used in questioning children who may have been sexually abused. The use of dolls as interview aids has been criticized, and the validity of information obtained this way has been contested. [1] [2]

Contents

Overview

Some children's baby dolls and potty training dolls are anatomically correct for educational purposes. [3] There are also dolls that are used as medical models, particularly in explaining medical procedures to child patients. These have a more detailed depiction of the human anatomy and may include features like removable internal organs. [4] One notable anatomically correct doll was the "Archie Bunker's Grandson Joey Stivic" doll that was made by the Ideal Toy Co. in 1976. [5] The doll, which was modeled after infant character Joey Stivic from the Television sitcom series All In The Family , was considered to be the first anatomically correct boy doll. [5]

The dolls are also sometimes used by parents or teachers as sex education. [6]

Forensic use

A particular type of anatomically correct dolls are used in law enforcement and therapy. These dolls have detailed depictions of all the primary and secondary sexual characteristics of a human: "oral and anal openings, ears, tongues, nipples, and hands with individual fingers" for all and a "vagina, clitoris and breasts" for each of the female dolls and a "penis and testicles" for each of the male dolls.[ citation needed ]

These dolls are used during interviews with children who may have been sexually abused. [7] The dolls wear removable clothing, and the anatomically correct and similarly scaled body parts ensure that sexual activity can be simulated realistically.

There is some criticism with regard to using anatomically correct dolls to question victims of sexual abuse. [1] Critics argue that because of the novelty of the dolls, children will act out sexually explicit maneuvers with the dolls even if the child has not been sexually abused. [1] [2] Another criticism is that because the studies that compare the differences between how abused and non-abused children play with these dolls are conflicting (some studies suggest that sexually abused children play with anatomically correct dolls in a more sexually explicit manner than non-abused children, while other studies suggest that there is no correlation), it is impossible to interpret what is meant by how a child plays with these dolls. [1]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doll</span> Model, typically of a humanoid character

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Stivic</span> Fictional character

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Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis was a New Zealand childcare worker who was wrongfully convicted of child sexual abuse. He was at the centre of one of the country's most enduring judicial controversies, after being found guilty in June 1993 in the High Court on 16 counts of sexual offences involving children in his care at the Christchurch Civic Creche and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. He maintained his innocence until his death 26 years later and was supported by many New Zealanders in his attempts to overturn his convictions, although others believed he was guilty. Concerns about the reliability of the convictions centred on far-fetched stories told by many of the children and the interview techniques used to obtain their testimony.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Draw-a-Person test</span> Psychological test for children and adolescents

The Draw-a-Person test is a psychological projective personality or cognitive test in which the test subject uses simple art supplies to produce depictions of people. It is used to evaluate children and adolescents for a variety of purposes.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child sexual abuse</span> Form of child abuse

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Simulated child pornography is child pornography depicting what appear to be minors but which is produced without their direct involvement.

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The Child Protection Restoration and Penalties Enhancement Act of 1990 , Title III of the Crime Control Act of 1990, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law  101–647, 104 Stat. 4789, enacted November 29, 1990, S. 3266, is part of a United States Act of Congress which amended 18 U.S.C. § 2257 in respect to record-keeping requirements as set by the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988, also establishing prohibitions. The Act also amended 18 U.S.C. § 2243 and 18 U.S.C. § 2252 establishing and increasing penalties for sexual abuse of a minor. Also see Child Protective Services, for global practices and the approach of US.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ceci, Stephen J.; Maggie Bruck (1995). Jeopardy in the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony . p.  162. ISBN   1-55798-632-0.
  2. 1 2 Daniel L. Segal; Michel Hersen (2009). Diagnostic Interviewing. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 455. ISBN   978-1441913203 . Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  3. Heather Corley. "Great Toddler Potty Training Products". About.com. About.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
  4. "If a Doll Wears an Eye Patch, I Can Too". The New York Times . January 21, 1988. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
  5. 1 2 "Antiques: First 'anatomically correct' boy doll holds value". 19 October 2010.
  6. "7 Best Anatomically Correct Baby Dolls (Reviewed 2021)". 16 May 2019.
  7. Cohn, D. S. (1991). "Anatomic doll play of preschoolers referred for sexual abuse and those not referred". Child Abuse & Neglect 15:455 – 466.; Everson & Boat, 1991; Jampole, L. & Weber, M. K. (1987). "An assessment of the behavior of sexually abused and nonabused children with anatomically correct dolls". Child Abuse & Neglect: 11 187 – 192.; Sivan, A., Schor, D., Koeppl, G., Noble, L. (1988). "Interaction of normal children with anatomic dolls". Child Abuse & Neglect, 12:295 – 304. Cited in Larsson, 2000, op. cit.