SORCERY RELATED VIOLENCE
IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Sorcery-related violence is widespread in Melanesia. In Papua New Guinea it can take a savage form. In the Highlands Region witch-hunts occur in almost every province. Locals believe in ‘sanguma,’ witches, or ‘puri-puri,’ black magic.
Cases of sorcery-related violence are rarely brought to court and sometimes even the police are involved in witch-hunts, supporting the perpetrators not the victims.
Produced by Vlad Sokhin for UN Women in 2013