Andrea Dunlop

It was a dramatized series, but it was just this like massive moment of

cultural recognition that was pretty mixed because of the sensational nature of that story.

And I think the idea that this was sort of a one-off strange thing that happened to one person and Gypsy Rose Blanchard has become this monolith for the whole thing, which is obviously quite complicated.

But so Munchausen by proxy abuse, and that is the terminology that

I and many other experts and professionals have started to use.

There's a whole sort of terminology debate, but because it's mostly known by people who know it for the medical elements.

So the basic definition is Munchausen by proxy abuse is when a caregiver is

fabricates, exaggerates, or induces illness, usually a mother, usually with a small child, for the purposes of their own emotional gratification.

So to get attention, to get sympathy.

There's often a lot of fundraising involved, but that's not thought to be really like the primary motivator.

And it's also referred to as medical child abuse.

And when you're talking about it in a criminal context, that's the terminology.

The reason I've gone back to using Munchausen by proxy abuse as a more encompassing term is because it often involves other forms of abuse beyond child abuse.

The unnecessary surgeries and the treatments and the medications, which those are obviously very serious.

Those can be life-threatening.

It's a particularly deadly form of abuse.

But it also encompasses a really deep and persistent psychological abuse, emotional abuse, and educational abuse.

These kids are often not in school for long periods of time.

They're not allowed to be around their peers in a normal way.

Those elements are so serious as well, even if the medical...