Child Victims of Violence Seek Support via Social Media

When a family that is supposed to provide safety and shelter becomes a place of violence, children seek escape by sharing their experiences or injuring themselves.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Children perch in a breach in the Marunda Beach embankment on Tuesday (30/6/2020) in Cilincing, North Jakarta. The local people, who used to make their livelihood as fishers for many generations, are now starting to hang up their nets and retire their boats. Some have become workers at factories near their houses, which are surrounded by warehouses and port facilities

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Children who are victims of domestic violence find consolation on social media to heal their emotional wounds. Besides their vulnerability to exploitation and being targeted in the crime of child pornography, the trauma they experience from childhood violence has the potential to carry over into adulthood if it is not addressed from the outset. As a result, child abuse becomes a vicious circle.

As children of violence mature and have families of their own, they could potentially perpetuate violence and abuse against their own children. In fact, the domestic abuse and violence children experience at home cause emotional wounds that can give rise to self-harm, from physically injuring themselves to suicidal thoughts.