Abstract
Faith-based abuse relating to the practice of witchcraft and spirit possession is a controversial and not well-understood form of child abuse. From its ‘discovery’ in the UK as a cause of abuse, serious injury and death for children, in 2000 to the present, the recent history of witchcraft and spirit possession involves some high-profile cases, involving serious harm and death for some children, which attracted significant publicity. This article reviews research and commentary, including grey literature, and the emerging policy framework. It discusses the underpinning relationship between faith-based practices and abuse, and takes a post-colonial perspective to discuss the social explanations for the continuing practice of witchcraft and spirit possession in contemporary society. These discussions are then shown to inform practice. Practice priorities are informed assessment of suspected cases, through early and statutory interventions, care for survivors, and an important focus on community engagement to prevent this form of child abuse.
Highlights
Faith-based abuse relating to the practice of witchcraft and spirit possession is a controversial, under-researched and poorly understood form of child abuse
Legal prohibition of practices that lead to cultural harm is supported by the United Nations framework for addressing cultural harm (INCO 2012) but the current UK child protection framework does not include a category of cultural harm and cases are classified as physical, emotional, sexual abuse or neglect (HMG 2017)
This article has explored the problem of faith-based child abuse related to witchcraft and spirit possession and identified key debates and concerns
Summary
Faith-based abuse relating to the practice of witchcraft and spirit possession is a controversial, under-researched and poorly understood form of child abuse. The governmental non-statutory guidance, Safeguarding Children from Abuse Linked to a Belief in Spirit Possession (DFES, 2007), drawing extensively on Stobart’s report, emphasised the importance of making assessments using the existing child protection framework. Faith-based practices relating to witchcraft and spirit possession continue to have meaning and relevance to individuals, groups and communities outside the contexts in which they developed for complex social, psychological, cultural and economic reasons. Responding effectively to individual cases requires practitioners to recognise a spectrum of motives that parents, caregivers, faith leaders and other adults can have for behaving in harmful ways towards children Awareness of these practices, including religious-based explanations for children’s behaviour, the role of deliverances and the potential for harmful outcomes from witchcraft accusations need to be linked with exploration of the meaning of accusations in individual cases, together with strong affirmations of children’s rights. This should lead to an exploration of the meaning of misfortune or difficulty in the family and what support is helpful within informal and formal networks, including therapeutic interventions
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