Lopez 1

Serena Lopez

Dr. Sharity Nelson

English 1301

1 November 2022

The Rhetorical Effectiveness of “Online Learning and Child Abuse: The COVID-19 Pandemic

Impact On Work and School From Home in Indonesia”.

COVID-19 - a virus that has affected people from all walks of life. Whether financially,

emotionally, or physically, the COVID-19 pandemic has pressured everyone - young and old, to

adjust to a life of constant vigilance to avoid contracting the potentially deadly virus. More than

anything else, however, this virus has significantly impacted education and how children learn,

particularly during the years 2020-2021. During these years, many schools worldwide decided to

transition from traditional learning in-person to online learning from home. Furthermore, parents

were urged to stay home to take care of their children, also taking on the responsibility of

teaching and assisting them with assignments. Due to this newfound role, parents found

themselves experiencing increasing amounts of frustration, sometimes resulting in the abuse of

their children. In an article by Selvi Suyadi entitled: "Online Learning and Child Abuse: The

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact On Work and School From Home in Indonesia", Suyadi argues in

favor of the contention that domestic abuse has been more prevalent since the start of the

pandemic. She utilizes various rhetorical appeals as evidence of her argument, strengthening her

ideas in her article. This use of rhetorical strategies such as ethos, logos, and pathos aids in her

favor as she goes into great detail about the correlation between child abuse and online learning

in Indonesia.
 Lopez 2

One of the very first ways in which Suyadi utilizes rhetorical appeals to intrigue her

readers is by showing that she has done research with various people that are reliable and

credible, appealing to ethos. For example, Sunyadi states:

According to Leny Nurhayati Rosalin, Deputy for Child Development at the Ministry of

Women's Empowerment and Child Protection… a total of 368 [cases of] abuse[ ] were

experienced by 407 children [during the COVID-19 lockdown]. (Sunyadi 1)

Citing someone who has worked with children and has studied child development is particularly

helpful in this study, as the argument speaks about children and psychological or physical abuse

during the COVID-19 pandemic. This implementation of a reputable source establishes a sense

of credibility. It shows the audience that Suyadi is the foremost person to speak on this topic, as

she has researched and spoken with people who are informed about children and how they

evolve. In addition, an Author Contribution Statement is included at the end of the article, in

which Suyadi lists the ways she has contributed to the research presented in her paper. Suyadi

states that she has "conceived and designed the experiments," "performed the experiments,"

"analyzed and interpreted [ ] data," "contributed reagents, materials," and "analysis tools [and]

data." The Author Contribution Statement that is included in the article shows that Suyadi wants

her readers to know that she has done work to establish credibility as an author. Moreover,

Suyadi shows that she is a source to be trusted after dedicating her time and research to create a

powerful argument.

Aside from Suyadi establishing credibility to show the audience she is a trustworthy

source, she utilizes various statistics and graphs in her article that showcase cases of prevalent

child abuse occurring in households where online learning is transpiring. For example, Suyadi

asserts:
 Lopez 3

According to the US Police Department, there was an increase in domestic violence in

Portland by 22%, San Antonio by 18%, Jefferson County, Alabama by 27%, and New

York City by 10%. (Suyadi 2)

Suyadi purposefully shows the readers percentages of child abuse since the lockdown and

transition to online learning, proving her argument that child abuse has risen due to the

pandemic. This proof presented as statistics and charts can convince a skeptical reader that the

evidence that Suyadi suggests is accurate. Furthermore, the use of percentages shows that she

communicates with her audience in a way that makes them feel like intellectual individuals that

can understand complex concepts such as statistics. This treatment can make the audience feel

respected and a part of the discussion. Apart from this, there is a "Results and Findings" section

in the article that presents various statements from parents. Parents could answer these queries

with a range of "disagree" to "agree." As an example, one of the statements reads:

I punished (pinching) my children if they neglected or refused to complete online

assignments. (Suyadi 6)

A reader looking over these statements will immediately identify some forms of abuse occurring

at home due to parent frustration with the child, making Suyadi's argument more reliable and

believable. Inserting unbiased perspectives from parents can persuade the viewers of the article

that what Suyadi is speaking about is factual.

The main rhetorical appeal that is used in this article is pathos. Suyadi appeals to the

reader's morals and emotions by using powerful language to evoke sympathy from her readers.

For example, in this sentence:

 Lopez 4

…children studying online are vulnerable [to] becoming violence victims in

cyberspace[s]. Lack of parental supervision during online learning may also lead them to

suffer from mental and psycho-social disorders (harassment/bullying)". (Suyadi 2)

The wording in this sentence significantly contributes to provoking sympathy from the reader.

Words such as "vulnerable" and "victim" create an idea in the reader that the child being abused

is something that should be rescued and is an individual that requires care and support.

Furthermore, the phrase "lack of parental support" makes the reader feel that the parents are

committing neglectful acts towards their children, making them feel disgusted, as the parent is

not giving their children basic emotional needs. Moreover, Suyadi provides real-life examples of

children who have suffered some form of trauma during the pandemic due to troubles with online

learning. The article reads:

[An] 11-year-old [child]... ran away after being scolded by their mother for spending

internet data on online assignments… a 14-year-old student from Kerala, India,

reportedly committed suicide because she could not attend online classes due to the

absence of [a] smartphone or TV. (Suyadi 2)

These accounts elicit feelings of sadness as well as feelings of anger towards any educational

systems that are not providing the bare minimum, such as electronics for their students. Suyadi is

well-informed on how to give rise to feelings of compassion from her readers and make them

feel that the pandemic has induced tragic situations for parents and children alike.

In conclusion, Suyadi successfully uses miscellaneous rhetorical appeals to persuade her

audience that child abuse and online learning have a correlation with one another. She establishes

her credibility with the Author Contribution Statement, along with citing reputable resources

such as the U.S. Police Department and child development deputies. Furthermore, she displays
 Lopez 5

factual evidence of ongoing child abuse by employing charts and graphs in the "Results and

Findings" section of her article, appealing to the reader's sense of reason and exhibiting to them

that her argument can be proven with evidence. Lastly, Suyadi tugs at the heartstrings of her

readers by using language such as "vulnerable" and "victim, inevitably eliciting a sense of

empathy from the reader. She gives real-life examples of students who have suffered some form

of trauma due to the stress of the pandemic and the ongoing pressure from their parents. Suyadi

understands how to create an effective discussion so she may successfully convince a reader of

her claim, and she has done just that in this article.
 Lopez 6

Works Cited

Suyadi, Selvi, and Issaura Dwi. “Online Learning and Child Abuse: The Covid-19 Pandemic

Impact on Work and School from Home in Indonesia.” Heliyon, vol. 8, no. 1, 2022,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e08790. Accessed 31 October 2022.