Thousands of children in England accused of witchcraft in past decade

L-R: Mardoche Yembi, whose story is told in the film; Fatmata B Jalloh, his real-life foster mother who plays herself in the film; and actor Jeriah Kibusi, who plays Mardoche as a child in the film. Photograph: Sarah Ainslie

Thousands of children in England have been accused of witchcraft over the past decade, according to new figures that come alongside a film released on Monday.

Faith-based abuse is a worldwide phenomenon but experts found 14,000 social work assessments linked to witchcraft accusations since 2015. In the year running to March 2024 alone, there were 2,180 assessments linked to witchcraft.