Faith abuse is abuse of a child, linked to faith or belief. It is not about challenging people’s beliefs, but where these beliefs lead to abuse, this should never be tolerated. This includes: belief in concepts of witchcraft and spirit possession, demons or the devil acting through children or leading them astray (traditionally seen in some Christian beliefs), the evil eye or djinns (traditionally known in some Islamic faith contexts) and dakini (in the Hindu context); ritual or multi murders where the killing of children is believed to bring supernatural benefits or the use of their body parts is believed to produce potent magical remedies; and use of belief in magic or witchcraft to create fear in children to make them more compliant when they are being trafficked for domestic slavery or sexual exploitation. This is not an exhaustive list and there will be other examples where children have been harmed when adults think that their actions have brought bad fortune, such as telephoning a wrong number which is believed by some to allow malevolent spirits to enter the home.

Childline
You can start a 1-2-1 chat with us from:

7.30am -10.30pm - Monday to Friday

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Or you can call 0800 1111 for free from:

7.30am - 3.30am - Monday to Friday

9am - 3.30am - Saturday to Sunday

You can also send an email using a Childline account any time, and we'll usually reply within a day.