Post on 09-Feb-2021
Abuse linked to faith or belief
Leethen Bartholomew
l.bartholomew@sussex.ac.uk
Learning Agreement
Accept Differences
Everyone Participates
Respect Diversity
Constructive Criticism
Culture of Learning
Confidentiality
Self-care
Caricature/Romanticise
Quiz
How would you react if you broke a
mirror?
a. You'd be horrified at the thought of seven years bad luck.
b. You'd just ignore it and admire yourself in the piece that wasn't broken.
c. You'd try and repair it in the hope that it might at least spare you a couple of years of bad luck.
•Do you believe that people can see and communicate with the dead?
a. Yes
b. Possibly
c. No
If a black cat crossed your path, would you?
a. Hope that it was going to be your lucky day
b. Cringe, because you don't like cats
c. Think nothing of it, as you're not superstitious
Behind every
‘What?’ is a ‘Who’
Reality is, very largely, what a community agrees to be real Prof. Anthony Gittins Professor of Missiology at the Catholic Theological Union, Chicago
Victoria Climbié
Thought to be possessed by evil spirits burnt with cigarettes, tied up for long periods, and hit with bike chains, hammers and wires. The police, the social services department of four local authorities, the National Health Service, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), and local churches all had contact with her, and noted the signs of abuse. Laming report, published on 28 January 2003, found that the agencies had failed to protect her. On at least twelve occasions, workers involved in her case could have prevented her death, particularly condemning the senior managers involved
CASE STUDY
Child B 2003 "She pulled out a
little knife and she
did little marks on
me. I was bleeding.
The three of them
surrounded me and
one kicked me, one
slapped me and one
pushed me. I asked
myself,
What have I done?"
43 Injuries
Naila Mumtaz
Smothered in her Birmingham home in 2009 when she was six-months pregnant. Her husband and three members of his family were jailed for life in 2012 for the murder, which was carried out in an attempt to rid her of an evil spirit (Djinn). They claimed in court that Naila's father had killed her with djinns sent from Pakistan which was 5,000 miles away. In court they took full advantage and exploited the confusion in Naila's family being so far away on a different continent, the language barriers and cultural sensitivities. The perpetrators still accept no responsibility and have no remorse blaming djinns sent from Pakistan for the deaths.
Three-month-old Samira Ullah
Sitab Ullah(26) child's father: following the death of his father, he became paranoid after taking crack cocaine and heroin. He said ‘He was not hurting her, he was hurting the thing inside her’ Found guilty of murder and will serve at least 20 years. His wife Salma Begum got 15 months after admitting child neglect
Kristy Bamu
15 year old boy from Democratic
Republic of Congo. Murdered by his
sister and her boyfriend who believed
that he was a witch.
Episode of bed wetting triggered final
violent murder.
Tortured with 'an armoury of
weapons' and had 101 injuries before
drowning during an exorcism in flat in
Newham, London.
What is Witchcraft
• It is associated with the invisible world and the spirits and powers believed to exists there that affect the real world.
• It is a negative, malicious force. The deliberate intent by
people in conjunction with spirits or the spirits directly themselves to inflict harm.
• Witchcraft is the art of doing evil.
• The visible and Invisible worlds are intertwined
• Characteristics include: bi-location, psychic cannibalism,
being able to fly, being able to take animal form (therio-morphism), spirits and animals with powers.
Witchcraft
• Witchcraft ≠ Spirit possession
• Witchcraft ≠ Wicca
• Wicca ≠ Satanism
–The (alleged) use of supernatural means to reach a desired outcome
–“witch” means a child who is able to use evil forces to harm others.
Spirit Possession:
• The belief that an evil force has entered a child & is controlling him or her.
Individual taken over by a spirit
• Almost universal
• Voluntary to involuntary
• Benign spirits to malignant
• Positive outcomes to negative/dangerous ones
• Can affect individual, family, community
• Self identified or identified by others
• In context of faith, tradition, culture – or ‘abnormal’ to communities or traditions
The role of Faith
Abrahamic Traditions
Judaism • Belief in Satan and demons/devils in writings from 300BCE (Dybbuk)
Christianity
• Biblical basis • Across denominations • Spiritual Warfare doctrine • Receiving the Holy Spirit as spirit possession
– ‘Gifts of the Spirit’ - healing, prophecy, speaking in tongues
Islam • Jinn spirits (Qu’raan Al-Baqarah 2:275 )
Other traditions Hindu traditions • Possession by spirits/ghosts Misfortune • Shamanism, Voodoo, Santeria, Candomble
Mosquito
•Belief systems serve in helping people understand their social world. That is, they help people perceive, interpret, and predict events (e.g., predicting whether people will succeed or fail) and select courses of action (e.g., deciding whether to help a victim of misfortune).
•Moreover, although people's belief systems may be stable over time, and have even been considered personality traits, some belief systems can change through personal experience, as will be discussed.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.coloring.es/pages/animals/images/mosquito.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.coloring.es/pages/animals/mosquito.php&usg=__SMJ2yYwO0Xnb78lHQZVivmof62U=&h=474&w=504&sz=16&hl=en&start=16&zoom=1&tbnid=zf-v72SGmeCedM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=130&ei=VkzWTqiFK8rU8gOXlZ2DAg&prev=/search?q=mosquito&hl=en&sa=X&tbm=isch&prmd=ivns&itbs=1http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.coloring.es/pages/animals/images/mosquito.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.coloring.es/pages/animals/mosquito.php&usg=__SMJ2yYwO0Xnb78lHQZVivmof62U=&h=474&w=504&sz=16&hl=en&start=16&zoom=1&tbnid=zf-v72SGmeCedM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=130&ei=VkzWTqiFK8rU8gOXlZ2DAg&prev=/search?q=mosquito&hl=en&sa=X&tbm=isch&prmd=ivns&itbs=1
Beliefs Systems
• Physical realm
• Spiritual realm
• Cyber realm
Spiritual
Physical Cyber
Behind every What is a Who
Why accusations occur: Macro •Countries where the political, familial and socio-economic
fabric of society have collapsed children are left in a
vulnerable state and this may increase the risk of them
being accused of witchcraft (Powles & Deakin, 2012).
• Cimpric (2010) suggests that accusations are symptomatic
of societal “multi-crises” as a result of poor governance,
rising inequalities and poverty
•The belief system combined with the destabilization of
African family life and inter-generational relations due to
capitalism, which demands an individualistic culture, as
opposed to a collectivist culture (Hanson, 2013)
•Briggs et. al (2011) concluded that in relation to accusations
within the African community in the UK, they are a
marginalised and isolated group
Perceptions of Childhood
• “By the law of England, a parent… may for the purpose of correcting what is evil in the
child, inflict moderate and reasonable
corporal punishment, always, however,
with this condition, that it is moderate and
reasonable.” Chief Justice Cockburn 1860
National Action Plan
Engaging Communities Empowering Practitioners Supporting Victims and Witnesses Communicating Key Messages
The 'Different' Child
Many children who have been accused of witchcraft or Spirit possession exhibit physical, emotional or mental characteristics that set them aside from others. This may include:
Physical
Signs
Character
Behaviour
Invisible
Signs
•Disability
•Bedwetting
•Nightmares
•Illness
•Physical
abnormality
•Epilepsy
•Ugliness
•Learning
disability
•Mental health
•Autism
•Stammering
•Deafness
•Over-
independence •Rebelliousness
•Disobedience
•Disrespectful
•Intelligent
• Resentful
•Jealous
•Malicious
•Envious
•Insolent
•Indolent
•Stealing
•Sleepwalking
•Enuresis
•Soiling
•Talk to
themselves
•Violent
•Eat human
flesh
•Casting spells
•Nightmares
•Can cause
sterility
•Can cause
natural
disasters
The Family Environment
Children are more likely to be accused if they are:
• Orphans of one or more parent • Reconstituted family • Fostered/adopted • Living with "aunties" and "uncles“ • Newly arrived in the UK. • Victim of trafficking e.g. domestic house help / sex
worker
Understanding Misfortune
There is a need to appropriate blame for the suffering that many people endure in their lives and this leads to victims being scapegoat.
There is often a belief that nothing happens in the physical realm without some form of influence in spiritual realm. Accusations of witchcraft and spirit possession are often reactions to external factors in the lives of the accuser(s) such as:
Witchcraft
Migration Immigration
problems
Domestic
violence
Gang
involvement
Divorce/
separation
Death
Financial
problems
Sexual
exploitation
FGM
Behind every
‘What?’ is a ‘Who’
Looking for a solution
Scapegoating the Most Vulnerable
Abuse linked to belief in witchcraft and spirit possession may occur where someone is treated as a scapegoat for perceived failure. Whilst specific beliefs, practices, terms or forms of abuse may exist, the underlying reasons for the abuse are often similar to other contexts in which vulnerable children or adults become at risk.
These reasons can include family stress, deprivation, domestic violence, substance abuse and mental health problems. Someone who is different in some way, perhaps because they have a disability or learning difficulty, an illness or are exceptionally bright, can also be targeted in this kind of abuse.
Mental Health
Mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, post-traumatic disorder and depression may be considered as signs of witchcraft or spirit possession.
In addition to this people who are suffering mental health problems may also believe that they are under attack from witchcraft and/or evils spirits. Both of these perspectives may need to be considered when carrying out assessments.
Behind every
‘What?’ is a ‘Who’
Looking for a solution
What Role Does the Media Play?
Safety Behaviour
Carried out by the faith leader, elder or relative this process involves using the following methods in order to deliver the victim from perceived witchcraft:
Regular prayer sessions, which may often last many hours and be carried out well into the early hours
Fasting: Restricting food and drink for many hours, sometimes days, is a common tool in deliverance
Physical restraint: Those undergoing deliverance can be kept in isolation, chained and beaten
Anointing with oil: Sometimes victims are forced to drink concoctions, often made with olive oil, in order to drive the witchcraft from out of them
Eating “Holy” food: eating certain types of food can protect you from magic e.g. Ajwa dates
Using protective paraphernalia: Nazar, amulets, charms, written prayers placed on door or under the pillow
SUSUK
Hijama
Pointers • Who is the accuser & abuser?
• Who is the victim?
• What is the role of faith leaders?
• Who has influence over the family?
• Is there an international dimension or media?
• How much does it cost?
• What are the outcomes for victims?
• What are the outcomes for siblings/other children?
• What is the relationship of the child to family?
• How is the family being treated by the community?
• What type of safety behaviour is being employed?
• What is the outcome if the safety behaviour is not working?
Challenges: Don’t know what you don’t know Staying child centred
Knowledge base of professionals
Professionals unclear about nature of concern
‘Religion-blind’ or ‘belief-blind approach’ Not reflecting chaos of the family
Risk assessments cannot eliminate risk
Many different professionals making communication and co-ordination difficult
Supervision
Support services ill-equipped or not available to provide appropriate support e.g. parenting programme: need tailor made intervention and support
Case 4
11 year old Mark has a learning disability
and functions at the level of a 4 year old
lives with his mother and 18 year old sister.
Mother came from Ghana 20 years ago and
they are Pentecostals. Mark disclosed to his
school teacher that he was hit by his mother
with a shoe and the case was referred to
children social care.
Mark
HIV
Sexual
Vulnerability
(Iceland)
Personality
disorder
Suicidal
ideation Financial
Exploitation
Faith & Family
Sexual abuse
Accusations
of spirit
Possession
35 evils
Church
Religious rituals
Spiritualist
Belief: soul
sacrificed
Problems: due
to being married
In spiritual realm
TV Evangelist