Modern Witch Hunts: Persecution Continues Globally

Introduction: The Burnings Never Stopped

While Europe ended witch executions in the 18th century, witch hunts continue today. In parts of Africa, Asia, and Papua New Guinea, thousands of people—mostly women and children—are accused of witchcraft, tortured, and killed every year. These modern witch hunts reveal that the same dynamics of scapegoating, gendered violence, and social control that drove historical persecutions still operate in the 21st century.

This is not ancient history. This is happening now. And it demands our attention and action.

This is the eighteenth article in our Witch Hunts series. We now examine where witch accusations continue, who is targeted, why persecution persists, and what is being done to stop it.

The Scale: How Many Die Today?

Estimated Numbers

• Annual deaths: 1,000-2,000+ people killed for witchcraft accusations globally
• Total since 1960: 40,000-60,000+ (similar to historical European witch hunts)
• Non-fatal violence: Tens of thousands beaten, tortured, expelled from communities

Underreporting

Actual numbers likely much higher:

• Many killings unreported (remote areas)
• Governments undercount or hide data
• Victims' families fear reporting
• International organizations have limited access

Where It Happens: Regional Overview

Sub-Saharan Africa (Highest Rates)

Countries with significant witch accusations:

• Tanzania: 500+ killed annually
• Democratic Republic of Congo: Thousands of children accused
• Ghana: Witch camps housing 1,000+ accused women
• Kenya: Regular mob killings
• Nigeria: Child witches accused and abused
• South Africa: Ongoing accusations and violence
• Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Cameroon: All report witch-related violence

Papua New Guinea

• Highest per-capita rate of witch killings globally
• 150-200+ killed annually (in population of 9 million)
• Torture methods: burning alive, burying alive, mutilation
• 2013: Sorcery Act repealed, but violence continues

India

• 2,000-2,500 killed (2000-2016)
• Concentrated in rural areas (Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha)
• Victims: Mostly women, especially widows and elderly
• Methods: Beating, burning, forced to eat feces, paraded naked

Nepal

• Ongoing accusations, especially in rural areas
• Women accused of causing illness, death, crop failure
• Violence includes beating, expulsion, killing

Saudi Arabia and Gulf States

• Witchcraft and sorcery illegal, punishable by death
• Executions for "witchcraft" (often political or religious dissent)
• Migrant workers especially vulnerable

Who Is Targeted: The Victims

Women (Majority of Victims)

Profile:

• Elderly women (60%+ of victims)
• Widows (especially those who inherit property)
• Women who are different (albinism, disabilities, mental illness)
• Successful women (economic envy)
• Outspoken women (challenging male authority)

Children

Shocking trend: Thousands of children accused of witchcraft

Regions: DRC, Nigeria, Angola

Who:

• Orphans and street children
• Children with disabilities or illness
• Children who are "different" (left-handed, bedwetting, nightmares)
• Stepchildren (family disputes)

Consequences:

• Abandoned by families
• Tortured by pastors performing "exorcisms"
• Killed or left to die
• Thousands living on streets

People with Albinism

Tanzania, Malawi, other East African countries:

• People with albinism hunted for body parts
• Body parts used in witchcraft rituals (belief they bring wealth)
• Children especially targeted
• Living in constant fear

Men (Minority but Significant)

• Accused of sorcery (different from witchcraft in some cultures)
• Political enemies labeled as witches/sorcerers
• Men who challenge traditional power structures

Why It Continues: The Causes

1. Poverty and Economic Stress

• Scapegoating for misfortune (crop failure, illness, death)
• Seizing property of accused (especially widows)
• Eliminating economic burdens (elderly, disabled)
• Competition for scarce resources

2. Lack of Education and Healthcare

• No understanding of disease causation
• Illness blamed on witchcraft, not bacteria/viruses
• HIV/AIDS epidemic fueled accusations
• Mental illness seen as possession

3. Weak Legal Systems

• Police don't investigate witch killings
• Perpetrators rarely prosecuted
• Traditional courts supersede formal law
• Corruption and bribery

4. Religious Factors

Pentecostal Christianity:

• Rapid growth in Africa
• Emphasis on spiritual warfare, demons, deliverance
• Some pastors profit from "exorcisms"
• Child witch accusations linked to certain churches

Traditional beliefs:

• Witchcraft belief embedded in culture
• Witch doctors and traditional healers reinforce beliefs
• Syncretism of Christianity and traditional religion

5. Gender Inequality

• Women have fewer rights and protections
• Patriarchal systems benefit from eliminating powerful women
• Witch accusations control female sexuality and autonomy
• Same dynamics as historical European witch hunts

Methods of Persecution

Torture and "Confessions"

• Beating with sticks, stones, machetes
• Burning with hot oil or fire
• Forced to drink toxic substances
• Sexual violence and rape
• Sleep deprivation
• Forced "confessions" under torture

Execution Methods

• Burning alive: Most common (Papua New Guinea, Africa)
• Stoning: Mob killings
• Machete attacks: Hacking to death
• Burying alive
• Drowning
• Lynching

Non-Lethal Persecution

• Expulsion from community
• Property confiscation
• Forced to live in "witch camps" (Ghana)
• Social ostracism
• Forced to perform humiliating rituals

Case Studies: Individual Stories

Kepari Leniata (Papua New Guinea, 2013)

Who: 20-year-old mother

Accusation: Blamed for death of 6-year-old boy (her neighbor's son)

What happened:

• Tortured with hot iron rods
• Tied up and doused with gasoline
• Burned alive in front of hundreds of people
• Police stood by and watched

Aftermath:

• International outrage
• Papua New Guinea repealed Sorcery Act (2013)
• But killings continue

The Witch Camps of Ghana

What they are: Settlements where accused witches are exiled

Conditions:

• ~1,000 women living in 6 camps
• Extreme poverty, no resources
• Cannot return home (fear of being killed)
• Some have lived there for decades

Efforts: NGOs working to close camps and reintegrate women, but progress slow

Child Witches of Kinshasa (DRC)

Scale: Thousands of children accused and abandoned

Process:

• Pastors "diagnose" children as witches
• Perform violent "exorcisms" (beatings, starvation, torture)
• Charge families for "deliverance"
• Children expelled to streets if families can't pay

Result: 20,000-50,000 street children in Kinshasa, many accused of witchcraft

What Is Being Done: Resistance and Solutions

Legal Reforms

• Papua New Guinea: Repealed Sorcery Act (2013), increased penalties for witch killings
• India: Several states passed anti-witch hunting laws
• Tanzania: Increased prosecutions of witch killers
• Ghana: Working to close witch camps

NGO and Activist Work

Organizations fighting witch accusations:

• Stepping Stones Nigeria: Rescuing accused child witches
• ActionAid: Working in Ghana, Malawi, others
• Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network (WHRIN)
• Local activists: Risking their lives to protect accused

Education Campaigns

• Teaching about disease causation
• Challenging witchcraft beliefs
• Promoting women's rights
• Working with religious leaders

Economic Development

• Reducing poverty reduces scapegoating
• Healthcare access reduces illness-based accusations
• Women's economic empowerment provides protection

The International Response

United Nations

• UN Human Rights Council resolutions condemning witch accusations
• Special Rapporteurs investigating
• But limited enforcement power

International Criminal Court

• Could prosecute witch killings as crimes against humanity
• But hasn't prioritized this issue

Media Attention

• Documentaries raising awareness
• Journalism exposing abuses
• Social media campaigns

The Connection to Historical Witch Hunts

Same Dynamics

• Scapegoating for misfortune
• Gendered violence (mostly women)
• Economic motives (property seizure)
• Torture-induced confessions
• Mob violence and hysteria
• Weak legal protections

Colonial Legacy

• European colonizers introduced/reinforced witch beliefs in some areas
• Witchcraft laws from colonial era still on books
• Disruption of traditional societies created instability

Conclusion: The Fight Continues

Modern witch hunts are not relics of the past—they are ongoing human rights crises. Thousands die every year, mostly women and children, accused of impossible crimes and killed in brutal ways. The same fear, misogyny, and scapegoating that drove historical witch hunts still operate today.

In the final article of this series, we will explore Healing the Witch Wound: Ancestral Trauma & Recovery and The Witch as Archetype: Sovereignty, Power, Wildness. We will examine how to heal from the trauma of persecution, how the witch archetype empowers us, and what the witch represents for the future.

The burnings continue. But so does the resistance. And we must bear witness.

For those who die today. For those who fight to protect them. For the end of all witch hunts. We stand with you.