The Superstition that Maims the Vulnerable: Establishing the Magnitude of Witchcraft-Driven Mistreatment of Children and Older Women in Ghana

Emmanuel Sarpong Owusu

doi:10.1017/cri.2020.26

Abstract

AbstractWitchcraft-triggered violence is widespread in contemporary African societies. This study establishes the magnitude and identifies the principal features, motivations and socio-cultural contexts of witchcraft-driven mistreatment of children and older women in Ghana. It achieves this aim by embarking on an in-depth analysis of cases of witchcraft-related abuse publicised in three renowned local Ghanaian media outlets between 2014 and 2020 and comparing the results with the findings of extant empirical studies. The data support the view that witchcraft-fuelled abuse is endemic in Ghana, and the worst victims are children and older women of low socio-economic background. It demonstrates that the commonest forms of mistreatment and violence resulting from belief in witchcraft are murder and torture (perpetrated with various weapons/tools), forcible confinement and enslavement, neglect and child labour. The most dominant motivations for such violations are the suspicion that the alleged witches are responsible for family or community members’ death or illness and the supposed victims’ economic or financial predicament. The study stresses the need to criminalise witchcraft accusations and bring pastors and traditional spiritualists under closer scrutiny since many witchcraft allegations and the ensuing persecutions are largely encouraged by their dubious activities.

Highlights

Violence against children and older women is endemic in most contemporary African communities worldwide (Adinkrah 2017; Cimpric 2010; Gorman and Petersen 1999)
A report produced by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence Against Children reveals that “[e]very year, 254 Emmanuel Sarpong Owusu between 500 million and 1.5 billion children worldwide endure some form of violence” (United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children 2015:1)
The results indicate that witchcraft belief prompts physical abuse and psychological torture, and the deprivation of life necessities, including health care facilities and education

Summary

Introduction

Violence against children and older women is endemic in most contemporary African communities worldwide (Adinkrah 2017; Cimpric 2010; Gorman and Petersen 1999). According to a report released by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in 2014, globally, approximately 1 billion (i.e. six in 10) children between the ages of 2 and 14 years are regularly physically mistreated by their caregivers and communities. It discloses that about 120 million teenage girls worldwide have been sexually assaulted at some stage in their lives. The UNICEF report and other studies indicate that the prevalence rates are considerably higher in sub-Saharan African countries than in other parts of the world (Pereda et al 2009; UNICEF 2014a, 2014b). It has been disclosed that in 2012 alone, about 95,000 young people below the age of 20 years were victims of homicide, and that children living in sub-Saharan Africa are at higher risk of being victims of such crimes (UNICEF 2014a, 2014b). Child mistreatment, as the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) notes, is a significant problem throughout the African continent, occurring “in the home and family, schools, care and justice systems, workplaces and the community” (ACPF 2014)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion