Warning
NO JOKE
Disturbing TikTok trend sees teen girls posing as domestic abuse victims
DISTURBING videos depicting young TikTok users as domestic abuse victims are being shared on the social media platform.
Teen girls slathering their faces with makeup to look like they've been beaten have been warned they're "romanticising abuse" and triggering real victims' PTSD.
Some TikTok devotees claim that by pretending to be at the receiving end of violent incidents and domestic abuse they are helping to highlight the plight of real sufferers.
The reports that users have even been filming phoney attacks.
As recently as March 29, @taylore.rae showed herself as bruised, with smudged makeup, while bizarrely pretending to order a pizza.
In the 'call' she spoke of the so-called abuse.
And in another desperate attempt for attention, @cliocrowhurst posted a video where she pretended to have been shot by an "abusive boyfriend who got too drunk".
Her clip received more than 90,000 likes.
Domestic abuse during periods of coronavirus lockdown: where to turn to for help
“Refuge is concerned about the potential for incidents of domestic abuse to increase during periods of lockdown," according to the charity's CEO, Sandra Horley.
She added: "We know that ordinarily the window of opportunity for women with abusive partners to make a call and seek help is often very limited.
"Now, it is likely that window has become even smaller. With this in mind, we have today issued an online guide for survivors."
Refuge has undertaken a huge technology operation over the past eight days to move the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, ordinarily run from a cyber secure office environment, to remote locations.
It wants to reassure women that its Helpline is continuing to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that it is free, and confidential.
"Domestic abuse is much more than physical violence and we want all women who are experiencing any form of abuse – whether that is physical, technological, economic, sexual, or coercive control – to know we are here.
"Our message is simple: help exists, you are not alone," Refuge adds.
- In an emergency, call 999
- Any woman experiencing abuse should call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247
- If you are unable to call, then you can visit and fill in an online form, requesting a safe time to be called back
- Women can also receive automated guidance via the Refuge chatbot on how to secure their devices
Daily Dot says these and others like them are a disturbing part of a "point of view" video trend on TikTok.
They follow a viral video shared last June by Jennifer Jordan (@jenniferjordi), with 'bruises' and tears, alongside the caption "you go on a date with your abusive boyfriend and it doesn't end well".
That one racked up an astonishing three million views - and a horrifying 542,000 likes.
But, viewers warned her of "triggering" copycat behaviour, and "romanticising abuse" via the platform.
One pointed out: "Some of us have PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]."
When asked by Daily Dot to explain the video, Jordan replied that simulating domestic abuse in such a way would "help raise awareness".
She added on Instagram: "My motivation behind posting the video was to raise awareness, to let people know that being in a relationship with someone abusive will never end well."
Teenagers shut up in their homes and receiving their education online are turning for morale support and comic relief to each other - via immensely popular video sharing apps like TikTok.
The social media platform is owned by China's ByteDance.
While many TikToks tend to be lighthearted - dancing or lip syncing to trending songs is a common theme - they can also deal with more serious issues.
Some users say that the app - and others like it, such as Snapchat - lets them know other people are going through the same things they are and relax and laugh about it, says Reuters.
But, in the case of fake domestic violence clips, being a pretend victim is a step too far, according to Miriam Torres.
Torres, a sexual assault prevention advocate and creator of “Because of What Happened” affirmation cards, told Daily Dot: “Helping people identify abuse doesn’t need to be re-traumatising and that’s exactly what those kinds of videos do.
“They re-traumatise people who are trying to heal.”
Victims' commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Vera Baird, has warned that current Covid-19 lockdown measures pose an "unprecedented risk" to victims of domestic abuse, and she fears frontline services will struggle to cope.
She said: "The current coronavirus pandemic could lead to a substantial rise in the number of children and young people who experience domestic abuse."
Andrew Fellows, public affairs manager at the NSPCC, added: "Hundreds of thousands of children are harmed physically and emotionally from growing up in homes where domestic abuse is taking place.
"The current lockdown is making their situation potentially even more difficult and dangerous."
The Government updated advice stresses that domestic abuse "is unacceptable in any situation, no matter what stresses you are under" and urges victims to seek help.
TikTok Time Bomb
TikTok has spread like digital wildfire, snapping up over 1.5 billion users since its global launch three years ago — including millions in the UK.
On the surface, the world's fastest growing social media platform shows short clips of lip-syncing to songs or showing off dance moves but there’s a far more sinister side.
It’s become a magnet for paedophiles as well as a hotbed for violent and extremist content, with TikTok predators exploiting the platform's young user base and lax security to prey on the vulnerable.
We've seen kids as young as eight being groomed on TikTok, while other creeps take advantage of young girls posting sexualised content of themselves on the platform.
And that's especially worrying on a site which is attracting millions more children every year, with 53 per cent of kids now owning a smartphone by the age of seven.
That's why we launched our TikTok Time Bomb series — to make sure parents are aware of the risks their kids are being exposed to, and what they can do to better protect them.
Everyone agrees that social media can be a force for good, but it has to be used the right way and with proper controls in place.
We want TikTok to better moderate its content so that it’s not being left to kids to protect themselves online.
Sun Online in February launched its TikTok Time Bomb series to make sure parents are aware of the risks their kids are being exposed to, and what they can do to better protect them.
We also want TikTok to better moderate its content so that it's not being left to kids to protect themselves online.
The Sun Online has seen kids as young as eight being groomed on TikTok, while other creeps take advantage of young girls posting increasingly sexualised content.
Most read in UK news
Disturbingly, more than a quarter of parents admit they are clueless such content even exists.
Many are allowing kids some as young as THREE to swipe through video after video, while a quick straw poll on Facebook reveals that the lower age limit of 12 is being completely ignored.
The app has already been blamed for several deaths and there is concern within the tech industry about how easy it is for TikTok users to lie about their age.
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