Legal Update: Abuse linked to faith or belief

In May this year, 15-year-old Kristy Bamu’s elder sister and her partner were found guilty for his murder in December 2010. He died as a result of abuse, reportedly arising from an attempted exorcism. The case was reminiscent to that of Victoria Climbié, the eight-year-old who was murdered in 2000 by her guardians, who claimed she was possessed.

Though only 83 cases of child abuse linked to faith or belief have been reported in the past decade – often belief in witchcraft and spirit possession – there is growing concern that frontline practitioners are not equipped with the information necessary to intervene early in these cases. Former children’s minister Tim Loughton has cited practitioners’ concerns with maintaining political correctness as a possible factor contributing to the lack of understanding of this form of child abuse.

Combined with the likely under-reporting of such abuse, there is concern that children at risk of such abuse will continue to slip through the cracks. This led to the establishment of the National Working Group on Child Abuse Linked to Faith or Belief.

Chaired by the Department for Education, the national working group published the National Action Plan to Tackle Child Abuse Linked to Faith or Belief last month. The plan, endorsed by central government, provides frontline practitioners with guidance for ensuring the protection and welfare of all children they work with. The document is clear that it is concerned only with those beliefs that lead to abuse and is not seeking to challenge people’s beliefs. In addition, it is not confined to the beliefs of any particular ethnic, national and cultural groups. The plan also emphasises that it does not address child abuse that falls within cultural or faith contexts such as female genital mutilation or forced marriage.

Improved training
The plan focuses on four main strategies for combating child abuse linked to faith or belief: empowering practitioners; engaging communities; supporting victims and witnesses; and communicating key messages.

The plan’s strong emphasis on empowering frontline practitioners is particularly welcomed as these groups are well placed to identify children at risk of abuse and, if equipped with the right information, in a position to trigger interventions aimed at preventing abuse and protecting children.

In particular, the plan calls on education providers to “raise an understanding of this issue within initial training as part of culture and faith safeguarding issues…” and for local safeguarding children boards to ensure that such training courses are available to frontline practitioners.

Engaging communities
According to the plan, the consultations undertaken by the national working group demonstrated that “there is relatively little actually known about the nature, scale and frequency of this type of abuse. Terminology is not well defined and there is very little research done within and in partnership with communities.”

The plan urges community and faith leaders to raise awareness about child protection and safeguarding, including through training for parents and communities. Raising awareness about child abuse linked to belief at the local and community level will re-emphasise that it will not be tolerated, and it is hoped will lead to more children being protected from harm.

The plan represents the government’s strong stand against this form of abuse and its commitment to preventing it and supporting victims. If successfully implemented – in particular, through the consideration of the views of children and young people and with the necessary support and resources – it is hoped that the clear guidance set out in the action plan will prevent further cases like Victoria Climbié and Kristy Bamu.