The women's suicide in Gjakova, AFP: Guilty TikTok

A quiet Kosovo town has turned upside down after parents and teachers discovered a disturbing range of cases of self-damaging children they say are linked to a TikTok challenge.

The first signs that something was going wrong in Gjakova came with a call from a parent in panic last month, according to the area's chief of education, Eranda Kumnova-Bacci.

The worried mother told me that her 12-year-old daughter, along with her friends, were involved in self-insulting, hurting their hands prompted by a self-damaging challenge in TikTok”, Kumnova-Bac told AFP, broadcast Klaankosova.tv.

It ordered school directors, teachers and psychologists to investigate.

They found at least 22 cases of suicide among girls from different schools in the southwestern town.

Kumnova-Bacci said at first they thought girls had just cut her hands. But after medical examinations, we discovered that some of the girls had countless injuries in all parts of the body”.

Self-efforts among young bleeding girls have left many anxious and searching for answers.

“was a shock to us in the school system and I believe it made a fuss throughout the community”, said Kumnova-Bacci.

Mental health crisis

TikTok's major global success has been built in part on the success of “sfides” an interactive call inviting users to create dance videos, jokes or games that sometimes become viral.

The mother of a procrastinated girl said children aged nine were hurt after watching one of the videos in TikTok.

The “is a game for girls between the ages of 9 and 17 in TikTok... they are imitating and acting like in the video posted there”, she said.

The mother, whose AFP is not revealing her name to protect her daughter's identity, called for the app to be banned.

This app publishes everything, even the most dangerous content. I think the state should stop TikTok”, she said, broadcast Klankosova.tv.

“became the biggest concern ever in my life”, she added, saying her daughter had documented her injuries on her phone.

According to TikTok's official policy, videos promoting self-invention and suicide are strictly forbidden.

We want TickTok to be a place where you can discuss complex emotional themes in a supportive manner without increasing the risk of damage. We do not allow the show, promotion or separation of plans for suicide or self-damage”, a statement posted on their website says.

For years, experts have warned that social media platforms can harm the mental health of their newest users through dependence on apps, kindness and body image issues and self-esteem.

Last year, American surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for action to ensure that social media platforms did not harm young people.

In Gjakova, close sources with the victims said many turned to self - sacrifice to overcome the fleeting feelings of depression. Others wanted to test their ability to endure pain.

And what's really bad is that the game starts with several cuts”, said Kumnova-Bacci.

It's disturbing.

Local residents told AFP that the discovery of these suicides had caused a concern in the town of some 78,000 people.

“It is very difficult for us to accept that our children are being hurt”, said Besfort Krasniqi, a 45-year-old business manager from Gjakova and the father of three.

“It's not just a major issue, it's very disturbing”, the hairmaker Hoti, 32, broadcast Clankosova.tv.

I have young children and am not directly threatened by this case, but our fear grows with raising our children”.

Kumnova-Bac said educational authorities have undertaken new initiatives to educate students about possible damage stemming from the content of social media.

Mirvet Aziri, an education and psychologist specialist, said self-invention incidents are likely to be linked to <x0).

Drin Domi of the local prosecutor's office said a police investigation into the incidents was open.

The Kosovo government banned employees and government institutions from using TikTok in their work phones and other official equipment in June, citing “cyber threats”. /Klankosova. tv