'Witchcraft' child abuse cases up are up by a third as research shows almost 2,000 children suffered ritualistic abuse in the UK last year

Local Government Association report linked rise in suspected witchcraft abuse with female genital mutilation, which rose to a record 1,000 cases in a year

Nearly 2,000 children suffered abuse last year for reasons connected to witchcraft, council chiefs said yesterday.

Cases in which children have been abused through alleged witchcraft, spirit possession and black magic have gone up by a third in two years.

The Local Government Association report linked the rise in suspected witchcraft abuse with female genital mutilation, which rose to a record 1,000 cases in a year.

Abuse of children for reasons of faith or belief rose from 1,460 cases in 2016/17 to 1,950 cases in 2018/19 - an increase of 34%.
Abuse can be driven by a belief the child is possessed by demons or the devil or is the reason for some misfortune to befall a family, or to terrorise the child into compliance when being trafficked.
He added: 'Some of it is linked to cases of child trafficking where children are taken through different practices like witchcraft, juju and black magic to silence them - as a form of control.'
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