Religious Abuse - Physical Abuse

Physical Abuse

Faith-based violence against children within a religious sect has become an area of growing interest and concern. Abuse of this type often takes the form of beatings, illegal confinement/neglect, near drowning or even murder under the belief that the child is possessed by Satan or evil spirits, allegedly practicing evil sorcery or witchcraft, or has committed some kind of sin that warrants such punishment. In 2012, the United Kingdom's Department for Children, Schools and Families instituted a new action plan to investigate and address the issue of faith-based abuse after several high profile murders occurred, such as the Kristy Bamu case. Over a term of 10 years, Scotland Yard had conducted 83 abuse investigations that had faith-based elements, and feared there were even more that go unreported.