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“This has become my worst nightmare”: TikTok challenge pushes teenage girls to self-harm in Kosovo

The youngest victim recorded was barely 9 years old. A challenge on the social network TikTok pushed dozens of teenage girls from Gjakovë (Kosovo) to self-harm with their friendsreport several press agencies including AFP this Thursday, November 7.

It was a school inspector in the country who reported the facts to the police, alerted by the mother of a student on October 8. “She called me to tell me that her daughter, a fifth grader, had self-harmed with her friends while participating in a TikTok challenge,” explains Eranda Kumnova-Baçi.

Cases recorded since January

She immediately launched an investigation and asked all school staff in the town of 80,000 inhabitants to report any cases that came to their attention. In total, twenty-two incidents were reported, the first of which date back to January.

“We initially thought that they had injured themselves – deliberately – on their hands, with sharp objects. But after medical examinations, we realized that some girls had dozens of cuts all over their bodies,” explains the inspector. “It was not only a shock for the educational community, but an earthquake for everyone,” she insisted.

“This has become my worst nightmare”: TikTok challenge pushes teenage girls to self-harm in Kosovo
Eranda Kumnova-Baçi was the one who alerted the authorities, after being contacted by the mother of a victim. Armend NIMANI / AFP AFP or licensors

Such a situation prompted the Minister of Education, Arbërie Nagavci, and the Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, to jointly publish a video in which they warn of the “dangers and consequences” of social networks for children , reports the Kosovar newspaper National. “We have strictly banned telephones in schools and we will continue checks in establishments,” Eranda Kumnova-Baçi stressed to the same source.

An investigation opened by the Kosovar justice system

According to the mother of one of the victims, children as young as 9 years old took part in the challenge after coming across videos on the social network. “It’s like a game for girls aged 9 to 17, who reproduce what they see on TikTok. It became my worst nightmare,” explained this woman whose daughter took photos of each of her injuries. Like the other parents, she refuses to give her name. As for the local authorities, they prohibited disclosing the identity of the victims, all of whom were minors.

Sheremet Elezaj, spokesperson for the Gjakovë police, clarified in early October to the Turkish press agency Anadolu that at least 19 injured teenage girls had been identified by their services, a lower figure than that reported by Eranda Kumnova-Baçi. Kosovar justice took up the case and opened an investigation, confirmed the spokesperson for the local prosecutor’s office, Drin Domi. The police are authorized to “take all measures” to shed light on this matter, according to him. But for some, the only solution would be to simply ban the application.

Officially, TikTok bans videos making the defense of self-harm or suicide. However, for years experts, researchers, doctors and parents have been warning against the effect of social networks on mental health of their users – especially the youngest.

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