Report on the Psychological Trauma of Children of Human Rights Defenders Under State Violence Released
《被连坐的童年：国家暴力下的人权捍卫者子女心理创伤研究报告》发布
Unveiling the Intergenerational Effects of State Violence: Focusing on the Psychological Trauma of Children of Human Rights Defenders
Children Must Not Pay the Price for Their Parents’ Political Persecution
后附中文版
On the eve of World Mental Health Day, October 9, 2025, the Chinese civil society organization “Chinese Human Rights Defenders Families Network” has released a nearly 30,000-word specialized research report titled: “ Collateral Childhoods: The Psychological Impact of State Violence on the Children of Human Rights Defenders.” This marks the first systematic study, domestically and internationally, to unveil the situation and profound psychological trauma suffered by the children of human rights defenders in an environment of state violence. Based on extensive case interviews and documentation, the report brings to light the systemic challenges faced by these “HRD children,” including educational deprivation, social isolation, severe psychological crises, and intergenerational trauma.
According to Ms. Liu Wei, a New York based human rights lawyer originally from Beijing and a member of the research team, the report was jointly compiled by independent journalists, professional psychological counselors, human rights lawyers, and NGO workers. The team conducted extensive interviews with multiple human rights defenders’ family members between 2024 and 2025, supplemented by documentation from public media and legal instruments. The study did not involve clinical diagnosis but rather relied on a psychological and traumatology framework for analysis. Its primary goal is to reveal the intergenerational effects of state violence and to mobilize social and international attention.
Zhou Fengsuo, Executive Director of Human Rights in China (HRIC), who has long provided humanitarian aid to the families of human rights defenders (HRDs), stated that under the reality of authoritarian rule and high-pressure politics, the children of Chinese HRDs are often forced to endure the associative harm resulting from the persecution of their parents: their education is interrupted, their daily lives lose stability, and their psychological sense of security is repeatedly shattered.
“The associated repression by state violence that these children suffer is akin to the barbaric ancient system of ‘guilt by association’ (Lian Zuo). Because they lack adequate cognitive and defense mechanisms, the scars left by these traumas are often deeper and more difficult for society and the system to recognize.”
Zhou concluded: “The Chinese government has a responsibility to cease the associative persecution of the children of human rights defenders and guarantee their most basic rights to survival and development.”
Key Findings: Five Modes of Systemic Persecution
The research report outlines the team’s five major findings, detailing the systematic nature of the harm:
1. Severe Deprivation of the Right to Education: Used as a Tool of Repression. The report found that children in nearly all cases experienced educational interruption or denial. Some were outright rejected by schools due to their parents’ identity, others faced forced displacement and multiple transfers, and some were publicly shamed as “children of political prisoners” by teachers and peers in the classroom. The education system, meant to ensure equal development, has been weaponized for political persecution.
2. Widespread Mental Health Crisis: Self-Harm and Suicidal Ideation. Multiple children and adolescents exhibited severe symptoms like depression, anxiety, insomnia, and hypervigilance. Furthermore, some reached a point where “they sought ‘liberation’ by abandoning life,” resulting in documented cases of self-harm and attempted suicide. Prolonged exposure to high-pressure, fear-inducing environments prevents them from achieving normal identity formation and socialization during adolescence, posing severe risks for their adulthood.
3. Frequent Fragmentation of Family Structure. In the majority of cases, one or both parents were subjected to long-term imprisonment, restriction of freedom, or forced exile. Children lost their primary attachment figures during critical developmental stages, relying on single parents or fragmented kinship care. This chronic separation led to severe attachment disorders and a pervasive sense of insecurity.
4. Continuation and Silencing of Intergenerational Trauma. The parents’ fear, shame, and powerlessness are often transmitted to their children through emotional atmosphere and behavioral patterns, forming a “silent legacy.” Some children even normalize torture and humiliation, prematurely adopting the role of “protecting their parents,” thereby losing the safety and freedom of childhood through premature adultification.
5. Exile Abroad: Not an End, But a New Predicament. While some children were fortunate enough to leave China, they faced new difficulties abroad: language barriers, cultural isolation, identity anxiety, economic hardship, and the persistence of trauma responses. Exile marks a relative start to safety but simultaneously represents a continuation of isolation and compounded adversity.
Recommendations: Three Guiding Principles and Six Calls to Action
The report proposes that protection must be driven by a child-centered approach that recognizes their independent rights and needs, and mobilized across social, legal, and international levels:
Principle 1: Recognize Independent Children’s Rights. Minors must not be subject to associative punishment due to their parents’ activism. All actions involving political repression must explicitly exclude children.
Principle 2: Establish Effective Social Support Networks. Domestically, philanthropic organizations, educators, and civil society must be mobilized to provide compensatory support, including psychological counseling, academic assistance, and social integration. Internationally, transnational NGOs and diaspora communities must share the responsibility for reception and assistance.
Principle 3: Strengthen International Oversight Mechanisms. International bodies such as the UN Human Rights Council and the Committee on the Rights of the Child must place these cases on their agendas, urging China to fulfill its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
At the concrete action level, the report presents six calls:
Educational Safeguards: Immediately halt the practice of denying children school access based on parental identity and provide compensatory educational resources.
Mental Health Support: Provide professional psychological counseling and long-term intervention for traumatized children to prevent crises from escalating.
Right to Family Reunification: Stop forced parent-child separations and guarantee children’s right to reunite with their parents.
Anti-Discrimination Protection: Schools and communities must establish anti-discrimination mechanisms to prevent the stigmatization of “children of political prisoners” in daily life.
Exile Assistance: Provide scholarships, temporary housing, and language training for children in exile to alleviate their survival pressures.
International Advocacy: Encourage international NGOs, academic institutions, and media to continuously document and speak out, preventing the plight of this group from being obscured.
The report emphasizes that if Chinese society and the international community continue to ignore these children, the trauma and silence they carry will be passed down for generations, becoming a lasting wound. Only through acknowledgement, support, and decisive action can their “ Collateral Childhoods “ be broken.
Chinese Full Report Link: 被连坐的童年 - 国家暴力下的人权捍卫者子女心理创伤研究报告
AI English Translation of the Report: Collateral Childhoods - The Psychological Impact of State Violence on the Children of Human Rights Defenders
揭示国家暴力的代际效应 聚焦人权捍卫者子女的心理创伤
《被连坐的童年：国家暴力下的人权捍卫者子女心理创伤研究报告》发布
儿童不应承担父母遭遇政治打压的代价
2025年10月9日，世界精神卫生日前夕，中国民间组织“中国人权捍卫者亲友网络”发布了近三万字的专题研究报告——《被连坐的童年：国家暴力下的人权捍卫者子女心理创伤》。这是国内外首次系统性地揭示人权捍卫者家庭子女在国家暴力环境下的处境与心理创伤，报告通过个案访谈与资料梳理，集中呈现了“人权二代”所面对的教育剥夺、社会孤立、心理危机与跨代创伤。
据“中国人权捍卫者亲友网络”成员、来自北京的人权律师刘巍女士介绍，本报告由独立记者、职业心理咨询师、人权律师和NGO工作者共同完成。团队在2024—2025年间与多位人权捍卫者家庭成员进行访谈，并参考了公开媒体和法律文书等文献资料。研究并未进行临床诊断，而是基于心理学和创伤学框架进行分析，目的在于揭示国家暴力的代际效应，并推动社会和国际关注。
长期为人权捍卫者家庭提供人道援助的“中国人权”机构执行主任周锋锁表示，在威权治理和高压政治的现实中，中国人权捍卫者的孩子们常常被迫承受父母所遭受的打压所带来的连带伤害：学业被中断，日常生活失去稳定，心理安全感被反复击碎。 “这些儿童遭受到的国家暴力连带打压，形同古代野蛮的‘连坐’制度。由于尚不具备足够的认知与抵御机制，这些创伤在孩子们生命中留下的痕迹往往更加深远，也更难以被社会和制度所看见。”
“中国政府有责任停止对人权捍卫者孩子的连带打压，保障他们最基本的生存和发展权利”，周锋锁说。
现状：五大主要发现
在研究报告中，呈现了研究团队的五个主要发现：
第一，教育权受严重剥夺，被作为打压工具。报告发现，几乎所有案例中的孩子都经历了教育中断或受阻。有人因父母身份被学校直接拒收，有人因家庭频繁被逼迁而多次转学，也有人在课堂上被老师和同学公开羞辱为“政治犯子女”。教育体系原本应当是保障儿童平等发展的场所，却被动员为政治打压的工具。
第二，心理健康危机普遍存在。多名儿童和青少年出现抑郁、焦虑、失眠和过度警觉。更有甚者，“有的要通过放弃生命来获得‘解脱’”，出现自伤乃至自杀未遂。长期处于高压与恐惧环境，使他们在青春期无法完成正常的身份认同与社会化过程。心理危机不仅影响学习与生活，也对他们的成年阶段埋下隐患。
第三，家庭结构频繁破碎。大多数案例中，父母一方或双方长期被捕入狱、限制自由或被迫流亡。儿童在关键的成长阶段失去了主要的依恋对象，只能依赖单亲或零散亲属照料。这种长期分离导致了严重的依恋障碍和不安全感。
第四，跨代创伤延续并沉默化。父母的恐惧、羞辱与无力感往往通过情绪氛围和行为模式传递给子女，形成所谓“沉默的遗产”。部分孩子甚至将酷刑与羞辱视为生命常态，提前承担“保护父母”的角色，在过早的成人化中失去了童年的安全与自由。
第五，海外流亡并非终点，而是新困境。部分幸运的孩子离开中国，却在异国遭遇新的困难：语言障碍、文化隔阂、身份焦虑、经济拮据，甚至仍旧延续着创伤反应。流亡既是相对安全的开始，也是孤立与困境的延续。
建议：三大原则与六项行动呼吁
报告提出，应当以儿童为中心，承认他们独立的权利和需求，并从社会、法律和国际层面推动保护：
原则一：承认儿童独立权利。未成年人不应因父母的维权行动而被连坐。所有涉及政治打压的行动都必须排除未成年群体。
原则二：建立有效社会支持网络。在国内，应推动公益机构、教育工作者和民间社群为这些孩子提供补偿性支持，包括心理辅导、学业帮助、社会融入等。在海外，应由跨国公益组织和侨民社区共同承担接纳与帮助的责任。
原则三：强化国际监督机制。联合国人权理事会、儿童权利委员会等国际机制应将这些案例纳入议程，敦促中国履行《儿童权利公约》等国际义务。
在具体行动层面，报告提出六项呼吁：
教育保障：立即停止基于父母身份剥夺儿童入学机会的做法，提供补偿性的教育资源。
心理健康支持：为受创伤儿童提供专业心理辅导和长期干预，避免危机恶化。
家庭团聚权利：停止强制性的亲子分离，保障儿童与父母团聚的权利。
反歧视保护：学校和社区应建立反歧视机制，防止“政治犯子女”在日常生活中被污名化。
流亡援助：为流亡中的儿童提供奖学金、临时住所和语言培训，减轻他们的生存压力。
国际倡议：鼓励国际NGO、学术机构与媒体持续记录和发声，防止这一群体的处境被掩盖。
报告最后强调：如果社会和国际社会继续忽视这些孩子，他们所背负的创伤与沉默将一代代延续，成为长期的伤痛。唯有正视、支持和行动，才能为他们打破“被连坐的童年”。
中文报告全文链接：被连坐的童年 - 国家暴力下的人权捍卫者子女心理创伤研究报告