Nursery World - Action plan to combat child abuse linked to faith or witchcraft

The Government has launched a national action plan to tackle child abuse linked to faith or belief in England, in the wake of cases such as Kristy Bamu and Victoria Climbie.

It has been drawn up by a working group, chaired by the Department for Education and comprising of faith leaders, the Metropolitan Police and voluntary sector organisations and charities including the NSPCC and the Victoria Climbie Foundation.

The action plan, which focuses on four key themes - engaging communities, empowering practitioners, supporting victims and witnesses, and communicating key messages - proposes stronger training and information for social workers, police and other frontline practitioners working with children.

While there has been progress in recent years, ministers are concerned that abuse linked to faith or belief is still misunderstood, hidden and going unreported.

According to the DfE, in the last 10 years there have been 81 recorded police investigations in London of allegations that children have been abused, where faith has been a factor.

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