January 2010 - IAST Prayer Alert - Child Witchcraft Accusations and Trafficking

Dear Friends:

For the month of January the Initiative Against Sexual Trafficking's prayer focus is on a phenomenon brought to our attention through the 2009 report Witchcraft Accusations: A Protection Concern for UNHCR and the Wider Humanitarian Community? by Gary Foxcroft, Program Director of Stepping Stones Nigeria.

As the report notes, witchcraft accusations and associations deal with the commonly held belief in many countries that "certain people possess a mystical power which enables them to separate their soul from their physical body whilst asleep at night and enter into the spirit or witchcraft world." The people groups at greatest risk of being accused are women, the elderly, children, and albinos. Witchcraft accusations and associations are not new in themselves, but the emphasis on children as victims is new.

People driven from their homes due to witchcraft accusations often have no place to go but the streets, leaving them more vulnerable to traffickers. From there the familiar story of manipulation and coercion occurs, leaving the victims trapped, exploited, and with no where to turn for help.

Chance's story illustrates this sad truth (the womensenews.org link to the original story is provided below). Having been accused of witchcraft, Chance was beaten every time she tried to go home. She tried five times. The article goes on to report that in some regions of the Congo "police started seeing a growing number of girls on the street, many prostituting because they'd been kicked out of their homes after being called witches. Child victims of witchcraft accusations/associations are also trafficked to be used as forced labor in plantations.

Resources:
1. To read the complete report by Gary Foxcroft visit
http://www.steppingstonesnigeria.org/files/UN_doc.pdf
2. For Chance's story please visit http://www.womensenews.org/print/7867.
3. "Saving Witches in Kolwezi": http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/september/27.62.html?start=4
4. The Invention of Child Witches in the Democratic Republic of Congo, by Javier Aguilar Molina: http://www.eldis.org/vfile/upload/1/document/0708/DOC22208.pdf
5. Prayer Guide by the10:10 Prayer Campaign: Lifting the label from children branded as "witches": http://www.viva.org/uploadedFiles/Resources/Files/Prayer/10-10%20prayer%20guide.pdf

Prayer Points

Please pray. . .

• For an end to the wars, environmentally devastated land, poverty and superstitions that drive people to make witchcraft accusations;
• That the wider Body of Christ—those in contact with church leaders who make witchcraft accusations—would take the necessary steps to correct and rebuke false teachings, as well as for the protection and safety of those who are intervening to rebuke child witchcraft accusations;
• That God would work through the governments and humanitarian groups in effected countries to protect those "at risk" of accusations—women, children, elderly, and albinos;
  That victims would find a place to escape and build new lives;
  That the power of Christ would defeat the powers of those adults who do practice witchcraft, divination, and sorcery;
• That the love of Christ for children would be revealed to those in church leadership, their parents and guardians, their teachers, and community leaders.
  

Abolition!
Peta-Gaye Stewart and Lisa Thompson