In Papua New Guinea, 12 people are killed every month for suspected witchcraft – a study by the authorities

In Papua New Guinea, an average of 12 people are killed and 14 maimed per month due to violence linked to accusations of witchcraft. This is reported in a study by the country’s authorities, transfers local edition of The National.

From 2000 to 2020, more than 6,000 cases of violence were reported in the country due to suspicions of witchcraft. They have resulted in approximately 3,000 deaths.

“The study showed that every month 12 people are killed and 14 are seriously injured as a result of such violence,” said Chalz Abel, chairman of the parliamentary special commission on gender-based violence. He added that in recent years the problem has only worsened and become more serious.

He called the level of violence over suspected witchcraft “shocking” and called on the government to properly fund and implement a national action plan against the phenomenon. In 2016, a ten-year budget of Kin 57 million (over $ 16 million) was proposed as part of a strategy to combat gender and other forms of violence.

“We know that the Department of Community Development and Religion, which has been responsible for implementing the strategy since 2016, has not prepared convincing budget documents,” Abel said, while responding that last month the authorities made a proposal to finance this program from a budget of 37 million kin (almost $ 10.5 million) over five years.