The Intersection of Sexual Violence and Contemporary Witchcraft Accusations

This session will focus on the link between sexual violence and accusations of witchcraft. In many, but certainly not all, countries where witchcraft accusations and associated violence occur, those who are accused experience a range of sexual violence including forced undressing and public nudity, sexual assault and rape. The speakers in this seminar will discuss the specific contexts of Papua New Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Across both contexts, shared drivers of sexual violence include entrenched gender inequality, normalisation of violence against women and weak legal accountability.  The speakers will also invite participants to discuss other areas of the world where such violence occurs (or does not occur), in order to advance our understanding of the extent to which it is a common phenomenon.