Child Abuse in a semi-urban community in south-south Nigeria: The case of a 12 Year Old Girl Accused of Witchcraft

Abstract

In spite of the passage of the 2003 Child Right Act in Nigeria, and the signing and ratification of several international legal instruments that dealt with child abuse, the incidence of child abuse in Nigeria is still very high. We report the deprivation, physical and psychological abuse suffered by a 12 year old girl accused of witchcraft by members of her family, in Egbema, a semi-urban, oil bearing community in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. This case is reported to highlight the increasing number of children accused of witchcraft by charismatic religious groups; and to emphasize the need for doctors to seek out such abuses, and act to protect the abused children.

Nigerian Hospital Practice Vol. 2 (1) 2008: pp. 10-13