Witchcraft accusations and older adults: insights from family members on the struggles of well-being

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Africa, witch doctors are consulted not only for healing diseases, but also for invoking curses. There has been a paradigm shift involving the types of people often accused of using witchcraft in response to the changing political, economic, and social landscape, and the most affected group is older adults. While efforts are being made to eliminate accusations and lynching, little attention is paid to understanding the experiences of accused older adults and their families. The study collected data through face-to-face interviews from 12 family members of accused older adults who are living in their communities to identify their wellbeing challenges. The findings of this study will offer significant contributions because a lot of attention has been given to older adults confined in “witch” camps, but this paper looks at those in the communities. The study found that ostracism and marginalization, as well as emotional and psychological distress, are key wellbeing challenges experienced by older adults and their families accused of witchcraft. The findings suggest that there is a need for governmental involvement in actively enforcing existing laws that criminalize banishment of accused persons and recognizing that victims of such accusations need trauma-related support services which is currently non-existent. Specifically, a clarion call is placed on the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to spearhead reforms around trauma-related support provision.