New research reveals scars of Gambia’s witch hunts
UN-backed study shows lasting damage caused by state-led witchcraft accusations
A map showing the location of The Gambia
A new United Nations-funded study has highlighted the lasting psychological and social scars left by a state-sponsored witch hunt in The Gambia, more than a decade after it was carried out by former President Yahya Jammeh.
The research, led by Professor Mick Finlay of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in collaboration with the University of The Gambia and Nottingham Trent University, is the first academic study into the stigma associated with government-led witchcraft accusations, and includes interviews with victims and their families from the villages most affected by the campaign.
Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship, which ended in 2016, was marked by human rights abuses including torture, extrajudicial killings and disappearances. Between 2008-2009, he orchestrated a campaign of witch hunts focusing on the West Coast and North Bank regions. These were led by a group of “witch hunters” from neighbouring countries, supported by The Gambia’s security forces.
Hundreds of people, mainly elderly, were detained, beaten, raped and subjected to degrading treatment. It is thought 41 people died and the survivors faced social exclusion and discrimination when they returned home because of the stigma associated with the witchcraft accusations.
The new study, published in the Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology and funded by the United Nations Development Program (The Gambia), involved interviewing and surveying the victims and their families, as well as members of their communities.
There was widespread sympathy for those affected – 98% of survey respondents expressed compassion for victims and their families – and a high level of agreement that the government (99%) and the community (92%) should provide more help for victims, indicating that the effects of the witch hunts were still being experienced.
The study also highlighted the complex role of traditional beliefs in perpetuating stigma. Although most participants believed the witch hunts were organised to frighten people not to oppose President Jammeh (89%) or to sow division (87%), 25% believed the threat from witches was real, including 22% of victims and the families of victims surveyed.
However, there was overwhelming support for legal reform. Almost all participants agreed that accusations of witchcraft should be made illegal (98%), and those responsible should be punished (95%).
Through interviews, the researchers found that the stigma extended beyond individuals to their families and entire villages. Children of victims were bullied at school, families were shunned, and some communities were labelled as “witch villages” by neighbouring areas. This led to broken relationships, mistrust and long-lasting divisions within and between communities.
Victims reported a range of psychological conditions including anxiety, panic attacks and post-traumatic symptoms. Many described feeling powerless and socially isolated. Some withdrew from public life entirely, while others struggled to find work.
Although The Gambia’s current government established a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to investigate the human rights abuses carried out by Jammeh, the study found many victims felt more needed to be done to address the specific harms caused by the witch hunts.
Participants proposed a range of measures to support reconciliation and healing including public declarations of innocence, legal reforms to criminalise witchcraft accusations, counselling, educational support, financial reparations and community-led dialogues to restore victims’ reputations.
“Our extensive fieldwork showed that not only did victims of the witchcraft accusations have to deal with the trauma of the human rights abuses, they also experienced a range of longer-term stigmatising effects from sections of their communities.
“There was a strong desire among those we spoke to for official recognition of the injustice they suffered. Addressing the stigma of Jammeh’s witch hunts involves restoring the good name of the victims through official declarations as well as rebuilding their social roles and relationships.
“Although The Gambia is undergoing transitional justice processes to address the impacts of the dictatorship, the recommendations by the participants should help the government and NGOs to further develop reparation and reconciliation processes related to the specific case of state-sanctioned witch hunts.
“Our findings will be of interest to other countries going through transitional justice processes when human rights come into conflict with traditional beliefs, especially belief in witchcraft.”
Mick Finlay, the lead author of the study and Professor of Social and Applied Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)The open access study also involved the Women's Association of Victims' Empowerment (WAVE) charity in The Gambia and is published by the Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. It can be accessed here https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/casp.70147