Survivors of witchcraft accusations have appealed to Parliament to urgently pass the Anti-Witchcraft Accusation Bill to protect vulnerable women from stigma, banishment and abuse.
In a statement shared with The Ghanaian Times in Accra on Saturday, the survivors said many continue to live under harsh and degrading conditions in camps, with little or no access to health-care, education and livelihoods.
They stressed that legal intervention remained the only way to restore their dignity and secure their future.
The appeal followed a three-day working visit by the Human Rights Standing Committee of Parliament to the Gambaga,Kukuo and Gnani camps in the Northern and North East Regions from September 17 to 19, 2025.
The visit, supported by Songtaba Foundation, ActionAid Ghana, Amnesty International Ghana, Oxfam Ghana and The Sanneh Institute, sought to expose lawmakers to the lived realities of survivors and strengthen advocacy for the Bill.
The statement noted that this was the second of such initiative, after an earlier mission led by Ac-tionAid Ghana and The Sanneh Institute.
This year’s visit culminated in a stakeholder meeting with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Regional Coordinating Council, CHRAJ, parliamentarians and traditional leaders to discuss the way forward.
Witchcraft accusations, it emphasised, remain a pressing human rights challenge,disproportionately affecting elderly women and marginalised groups.
Survivors are often banished, stigmatised and stripped of their livelihoods, forcing them into “witch camps.”
The Anti-Witchcraft Accusation Bill, formally the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was introduced by Madina MP, Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu. Though passed by Parliament, it lapsed without presidential assent.
The statement concluded that while legislation alone may not end accusations, its passage, enforcement and community engagement were crucial to preventing further tragedies.
BY TIMES REPORTER
