ABSTRACT
This report concerns the frequency and severity of child abuse linked to accusations of ‘possession’ and ‘witchcraft’. It identifies key features common to these cases and draws conclusions. The report is based on desk research and discussions with social workers, school teachers, police officers, voluntary workers and others who had knowledge of aspects of the subject. An important feature has been collecting and examining reports of cases that occurred since January 2000, analysing the often limited information recorded and drawing conclusions from this material. The belief in ‘possession’ and ‘witchcraft’ is widespread. The UK is not alone in seeing cases of this nature; cases have been reported worldwide. The children discussed in this report came from a variety of backgrounds including African, South Asian and European. Seventy-four cases of abuse clearly linked to accusations of ‘possession’ and ‘witchcraft’ were identified. To safeguard against double-counting, only cases for which there were identifying factors were analysed. Therefore, this report only analyses 38 of these cases. It should be noted that prior to enquiries only 14 cases were clearly identified and new cases were being reported right up to the date of publication of this report.
