Stevens Institute of Technology, 1 Caste Point Terrace, Hoboken, NY 07030, USA.
UNICEF, Data and Analytics Section, 3 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA.
Child Abuse Negl. 2021 Jun;116(Pt 2):104747. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104747. Epub 2020 Sep 17.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unforeseen challenges that could forever change the way societies prioritize and deal with public health issues. The approaches to contain the spread of the virus have entailed governments issuing recommendations on social distancing, lockdowns to restrict movements, and suspension of services.
There are concerns that the COVID-19 crisis and the measures adopted by countries in response to the pandemic may have led to an upsurge in violence against children. Added stressors placed on caregivers, economic uncertainty, job loss or disruption to livelihoods and social isolation may have led to a rise in children's experience of violence in the home. Extended online presence by children may have resulted in increased exposure to abusive content and cyberbullying.
This study uses testimonial-based and conversational-based data collected from social media users.
Conversations on Twitter were reviewed to measure increases in abusive or hateful content, and cyberbullying, while testimonials from Reddit forums were examined to monitor changes in references to family violence before and after the start of the stay-at-home restrictions.
Violence-related subreddits were among the topics with the highest growth after the COVID-19 outbreak. The analysis of Twitter data shows a significant increase in abusive content generated during the stay-at-home restrictions.
The collective experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures offers insights into the wide-ranging risks that children are exposed to in times of crisis. As societies shift towards a new normal, which places emerging technology, remote working and online learning at its center, and in anticipation of similar future threats, governments and other stakeholders need to put in place measures to protect children from violence.
新冠疫情带来了前所未有的挑战，这些挑战可能会永远改变社会优先考虑和处理公共卫生问题的方式。为了遏制病毒的传播，各国政府提出了保持社交距离、封锁限制行动以及暂停服务等建议。
人们担心新冠危机以及各国为应对疫情而采取的措施可能导致针对儿童的暴力行为激增。看护者承受的额外压力、经济不确定性、失业或生计中断以及社会孤立，可能导致儿童在家中遭受暴力的情况增加。儿童在网上的存在时间延长，可能会增加他们接触虐待内容和网络欺凌的机会。
本研究使用基于证词和基于对话的数据，这些数据是从社交媒体用户那里收集的。
审查了 Twitter 上的对话，以衡量辱骂性或仇恨性内容以及网络欺凌的增加情况，同时检查了 Reddit 论坛上的证词，以监测在实施居家限制前后，家庭暴力的提及率变化。
在新冠疫情爆发后，与暴力相关的子版块是增长最快的话题之一。对 Twitter 数据的分析显示，在居家限制期间，产生的辱骂性内容显著增加。
对新冠疫情大流行的集体经验以及相关遏制措施的分析，让我们深入了解儿童在危机时期面临的广泛风险。随着社会向以新兴技术、远程工作和在线学习为中心的新常态转变，并预计会出现类似的未来威胁，政府和其他利益相关者需要采取措施，保护儿童免受暴力侵害。
