Spirit Possession or Witchcraft of Children and Young People
Last updated: October 7, 2008
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
Current guidelines for praying for children and engaging with them in a faith context are available in the ‘Safe and Secure’ booklet, produced by the Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service and the Metropolitan Police. Whist the booklet is specifically for Christian communities; the principles it sets out for safeguarding children are the same across all faith communities and can be adapted accordingly.
The belief in possession or witchcraft is widespread and not confined to particular countries, cultures, religions or immigrant communities.
Where parents, families and the child themselves believe that an evil force has entered a child and is controlling them, the belief includes the child being able to use the evil force to harm others. This evil is variously known as black magic, kindoki, ndoki, the evil eye, djinns, voodoo, and obeah. Children are called witches or sorcerers.
Families and children can be deeply worried by the evil that they believe is threatening them, and abuse may occur when an attempt is made to exorcise or expel evil spirits from a child.
Whilst the known incidence of cases linked to spirit possession may be small, the nature of the abuse and its impact on the child can be substantial.
