Spirit Child Homicides Persist in Ghana and Other African Countries

File Photo: Spirit Child

The findings of a recent study confirm those of earlier works that spirit child homicide occurs in several African communities, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, and the Ivory Coast; and that even though the exact prevalence rate is unknown, it remains an important health and social problem in rural communities.

The term “spirit child” or “spirit children” refers to children, particularly disabled babies, believed to possess evil spirits capable of causing severe calamities in their families and the community. Such children are at times killed, usually by their own parent(s) or other family members with the help of traditional spiritualists, to forestall supposed misfortunes.

The study sought to consolidate and synthesise findings of extant empirical literature on spirit child homicide and to facilitate deeper knowledge and understanding of the following aspects of the phenomenon: (1) concept/meaning, (2) offence, victim, and perpetrator characteristics, (3) magnitude, (4) motivations or triggers, and (5) measures for combating the problem.

The defined aim was achieved through a systematic review. Using the PRISMA guidelines, a literature search for empirical studies on spirit child homicides published between 2000 and 2022 was conducted across four major databases. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were appraised.

The most targeted victims of this cultural and religious practice are children with certain forms of disabilities/deformities in rural communities. Among the common disabilities or anomalies identified as indicative of a spirit child include the following:

having a very small or a very large head (microcephaly or macrocephaly), being born with teeth or teeth appearing first in the upper gums, feet pointing in the wrong direction (talipes), lumps in the back (spina bifida), facial hair, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, blindness, epilepsy, unusual sex characteristics, misshapen limbs at birth, dwarfism, breech birth, etc.

Some of the key factors that trigger and/or sustain this crime are: demonophobia, poverty, inadequate healthcare service or lack of access to adequate medical facilities, inadequate education about children with disabilities or deformities, lack of government support for parents of children with disabilities, and the popularity and influence of traditional spiritualists in indigenous communities.

Because this belief/practice is deeply entrenched in the culture and philosophy of the practicing communities, efforts to combat spirit child homicide can only be realised through a multi-layered approach—reformation of domestic legislation, public educational programmes/campaigns, the promotion of formal education, health education and improvement in healthcare service, proper regulation of the activities of traditional healers, and the strengthening of the criminal justice system.

This important study is published (Open Access) in the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, by Taylor & Francis/Routledge: https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.2024.2388238