Covid-19: As lockdown fuels domestic abuse, social media users fight back

A woman wearing a protective face mask using a phone at a park in Wuhan, the Chinese city hit the hardest by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, in the Hubei province, China. As coronavirus curbs trap victims under the same roof as abusers, the United Nations has called domestic violence a ‘shadow pandemic’, and the issue has led to a flurry of online campaigns by charities, celebrities and ordinary social media users. — Reuters

LONDON/TBILISI/NEW DELHI: When British teenager Kaitlyn McGoldrick heard domestic violence was increasing under lockdown, she posted a video on social media showing victims how to make a silent emergency call to police without their attackers finding out.

“I just wanted to get the message out there that there are still places you can go,” said McGoldrick, 14, a volunteer police cadet whose post has had more than 50,000 views on the TikTok video-sharing platform.