[contentcards url=”https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/child-abuse-witchcraft-ritual-police-cases-b2931787.html”]
UK police investigated just seven cases in 2024 out of 4,450 instances of child abuse, despite a national helpline receiving over 1,000 calls of organised and ritualistic abuse
By Holly Evans
Hundreds, if not thousands, of ritualistic abuse cases against children have gone unreported in the last four decades, as experts described it as the “most shadowed form of abuse”.
An analysis of police data undertaken by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) revealed a “gap”, with just seven cases investigated in 2024 out of 4,450 instances of child abuse, marking just 0.2 per cent of all investigations.
However, when the NPCC assessed data from the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), it found that within a sample of 36,700 calls to their helpline between July 2016 and January 2025, 1,311 or 3.57 per cent, mentioned organised and ritualistic abuse.
A similar survey of 100 UK psychologists found that 38 per cent had dealt with one or more cases of satanic or ritualised abuse, with a new report calling for urgent training across safeguarding practices to recognise such practices.
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