| Community Workshop: Working together to address the problem of abuse linked to accusations of Witchcraft and Spirit possession (free event) |
Background Child abuse cuts across culture, faith and social class even though official statistics in the UK indicate a disproportionate representation of black African children in the social care system. The death of Victoria Climbie in 2000 at the hands of her guardians and the case of an eight year old Angolan girl (child B) who was dumped on a Hackney street in a laundry bag following accusations of witchcraft caused public outcry, particularly in the black community. Trust for London formerly City Parochial Foundation, responded to concerns and requests from black African community organisations for financial support to address the problem of abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft and spirit possession by funding 5 organisations i.e. AFRUCA (Africans Unite Against Child Abuse), Congolese Family Centre, Victoria Climbie Foundation, and APORENet (African Policy Research Network and CCPAS (Churches Child Protection Advisory Services) to address this problem. The funding aimed to develop and strengthen community-based preventive activities to protect the rights and to ensure the safety of African children living in London, with a particular focus on tackling faith-based abuse linked to a belief in witchcraft and spirit possession. The five organisations targeted 4 key stakeholders namely the African community, practitioners, faith leaders and policy makers. The Centre for Social Work Research (CSWR) was commissioned by Trust for London to undertake an independent evaluation of the work accomplished over 3 years by the funded organisations. The evaluation team was led by Professor Stephen Briggs, Director of the Centre for Social Work Research. In consideration of the importance of the key findings and recommendations as well as their potential influence on decision makers and practitioners, the organisers of this workshop aim to provide an opportunity to members of the African community to learn more about the report by engaging directly with the authors of the report, with a representative of Trust for London, as well as with representatives of the five community organisations that were evaluated.
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