Tik Tok blamed on self-harm challenge

Gjakova - A quiet corner of Kosovo has been turned upside down after parents and teachers uncovered a disturbing string of child self-harm cases they say is linked to a TikTok challenge.

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The first signs that something was badly wrong in Gjakova came with a call from a panicked parent last month, according to the area's chief education officer Eranda Kumnova-Baci.

"The worried mother told me that her 12-year-old daughter, together with her friends, had engaged in self-harm, injuring their hands prompted by a self-harming challenge on TikTok," Kumnova-Baci told AFP.

She ordered school principals, teachers and psychologists to investigate. They found at least 22 cases of self-harm among girls from different schools in the southwestern city.