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Since 2014, local authorities have logged 14,000 cases of abuse linked to witchcraft. And the latest figures show cases are rising. Councils identified 2,180 in 2024, up from 1,950 in 2018/19 and 1,460 in 2016/17
Thousands of child social services referrals were linked to witchcraft in the last year.
Local authorities recorded 2,180 cases of the vile abuse, which often includes exorcisms. The data, collected by the National FGM Centre, comes weeks after the 25th anniversary of the murder of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie.
She was starved, beaten, burned, scalded and tied up for months after a preacher told her guardians she was possessed by demons in Haringey, North London. Marie-Therese Kouao and Carl Manning were jailed for life in 2003 – sparking a massive overhaul of child protection laws.
But since 2014 local authorities have logged 14,000 cases of abuse linked to witchcraft. And the latest figures show cases are rising. Councils identified 1,950 in 2018/19, up from 1,460 in 2016/17.
Last month Mardoche Yembi, 33, told us how he was branded a witch aged eight and subjected to two months of exorcisms. Mardoche was sent from the Democratic Republic of Congo to live with his aunt and uncle in North London when his mother died during childbirth. But relatives accused him of bringing his family bad luck and even of being responsible for his mum’s death.
He told us: “They thought I was doing witchcraft to make their lives harder. We struggled with poverty.” Mardoche, from Islington, recalled being taken to church to have the “demon spirit” exorcised. His experiences have now been turned into a film called Kindoki Witch Boy – kindoki being a Congolese term for witchcraft.
Victoria Climbie was born in Ivory Coast and her parents entrusted her to her great-aunt, Marie Therese Kouao, to give her a better education in the UK. She died on February 25, 2000, with 128 injuries.
A public inquiry led by Lord Laming exposed widespread failures across child protection services. At least 12 different agencies had been involved in her case but had failed to act appropriately.
The Local Government Association said: “It is vital all professionals are trained to identify potential abuse. We also need to work with the community to help them play an active role in fighting abuse.”
