from the BBC:
"Child 'Witch' Threat"
...HRW says some 70% of street children in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, are outcasts, after being accused of witchcraft. Specialised pastors perform ceremonies to rid children of evil spirits and they can be held for days without food and sometimes whipped to confess.
Orphans or children with step-parents are said to be especially vulnerable to accusations that their sorcery has caused family misfortunes. During the ceremony, children's eyes and ears are blocked, supposedly to disrupt the transmission of spells.
Children who are HIV-positive are also susceptible to abuse and abandonment. "Child sorcerers have the power to transmit any disease, including Aids, to their family members," a pastor of a revival church in Mbuji-Mayi told HRW.
"Child 'Witch' Threat"
...HRW says some 70% of street children in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, are outcasts, after being accused of witchcraft. Specialised pastors perform ceremonies to rid children of evil spirits and they can be held for days without food and sometimes whipped to confess.
Orphans or children with step-parents are said to be especially vulnerable to accusations that their sorcery has caused family misfortunes. During the ceremony, children's eyes and ears are blocked, supposedly to disrupt the transmission of spells.
Children who are HIV-positive are also susceptible to abuse and abandonment. "Child sorcerers have the power to transmit any disease, including Aids, to their family members," a pastor of a revival church in Mbuji-Mayi told HRW.