Pentecostal deliverance rituals inflict torture-scale harm on accused children.

Evidence

Stage three: the “deliverance.” The pastor and/or the family attempt to expel the witchcraft spirit from the child. The methods documented in the UNICEF and Save the Children investigative reports include: extended fasting (the child is denied food for days or weeks); forced ingestion of substances (including palm oil, kerosene, battery acid, and herbal concoctions); beating with sticks, belts, electrical cables; burning with fire, hot water, or hot oil; cutting with razor blades or machetes; chaining or confinement; and prolonged prayer sessions during which the child is physically restrained and subjected to shouting, water-dousing, and physical violence. Some deliverance sessions last hours. Some last days. — , The Rod and the Child, 4623

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Corporal punishment harms children’s brains through the same mechanisms as physical abuse. — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 6255; The father’s inaction can intensify a child’s suffering. — Dave Pelzer, A Child Called ‘It’, 137; US law limits parental religious authority where children would be harmed — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 10844 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Corporal punishment harms children’s brains through the same mechanisms as physical abuse. #qualifies (0.55) — , The Rod and the Child, 6255
• US law limits parental religious authority where children would be harmed #qualifies (0.55) — , The Rod and the Child, 10844
• The father’s inaction can intensify a child’s suffering. #expands (0.50) — Dave Pelzer, A Child Called ‘It’, 137
• Religious conviction subordinates empirical evidence for committed punitive practitioners #complicates (0.50) — , The Rod and the Child, 10938
• Children can suffer deep emotional pain from parental neglect. #expands (0.45) — Dave Pelzer, A Child Called ‘It’, 108