Children have been accused of witchcraft, both historically and in contemporary times, in societies that harbor beliefs about the existence of witches and black magic.
[1] In sixteenth-century Europe, older children sometimes comprised a special category of witch hunters, bringing accusations of witchcraft against adults.
[2] In seventeenth-century Europe, one child, Alison Device, was accused of witchcraft by a young boy who fell into a "fit" after refusing to acquiesce to her requests.
[2] The two siblings were once again questioned following Alison Device's trial and execution about a neighborhood meeting, which resulted in allegations leveled against several more adults and children.
By the end of that year, Jennet had accused and seen the executions of several neighborhood adults, her sister, brother, mother, and grandmother.
[6] The sixteenth century brought forth more prevalent child involvement in witchcraft hunts and accusations, which slowly turned the narrative to the persecution of children themselves as witches.
[7] There are several cases of witchcraft in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries that involved children accused as witches.
[7] The late seventeenth century brought forward the child witch accusations in Calw, Germany, though to a lesser extent than in Würzburg.
[10] In the United Kingdom, research by Dr Leo Ruickbie showed that the problem of child witchcraft accusations was spreading from Africa to countries with African immigrant populations.
[11] In 2000, a young girl, Victoria Climbie, was sent by her parents to live with her great-aunt Marie-Thérèse Kouao to attend school and receive a better education.
[12] Subsequently, Victoria's condition continued to deteriorate from the prolonged abuse, neglect, and torture, eventually leading to her admission to the North Middlesex Hospital.
She suffered severe abuse by the adults in their attempt to force the devil from her body; including, starvation, beatings, and cuts to her chest.
At one time, she was intentionally drowned and only saved for fear of the British Police suspecting the adults in the home of her murder and maltreatment.
In the Central African Republic, as well as in other neighboring countries, witchcraft allegations against children have increased alongside the Christian revivalist churches.
[18] With beliefs of child witches running prevalent in modern day, children and their teachers alike are still faced with the public's want for harsh punishments, including beatings and even executions.
[19] In the Nigerian states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River about 15,000 children were branded as witches and most of them end up abandoned and abused on the streets.
According to Riedel, two major Nollywood films depicting children as witches don't show any economic stress and play in a middle-class environment.