Witchcraft

==== Papua New Guinea ====
A local newspaper informed that more than fifty people were killed in two [[Highlands Region|Highlands]] provinces of [[Papua New Guinea]] in 2008 for allegedly practicing witchcraft.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/08/png.witchcraft/index.html Woman suspected of witchcraft burned alive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429075819/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/08/png.witchcraft/index.html |date=2009-04-29 }} CNN.com. January 8, 2009.</ref> An estimated 50–150 alleged witches are killed each year in Papua New Guinea.<ref>"[https://news.vice.com/article/papua-new-guineas-sorcery-refugees-women-accused-of-witchcraft-flee-homes-to-escape-violence Papua New Guinea's 'Sorcery Refugees': Women Accused of Witchcraft Flee Homes to Escape Violence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320052432/https://news.vice.com/article/papua-new-guineas-sorcery-refugees-women-accused-of-witchcraft-flee-homes-to-escape-violence |date=2017-03-20 }}". [[Vice News]]. January 6, 2015.</ref>

Belief and practice of witchcraft are prevalent in [[Milne Bay Province]] of Papua New Guinea.<ref name=Lawrence>{{cite book |first=Salmah Eva-Lina |last=Lawrence |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/43884185 |chapter=Witchcraft, Sorcery, Violence: Matrilineal and Decolonial Reflections |title=Talking it Through: Responses to Sorcery and Witchcraft Beliefs and Practices in Melanesia
|editor1-first=Miranda |editor1-last=Forsyth |editor2-first=Richard |editor2-last=Eves |year=2015 |publisher=ANU Press |place=Canberra, Australia}}</ref> Unlike other provinces, the [[Samarai Islands]] and [[Milne Bay]] particularly sees much less violence against both those accused of witchcraft and women in general than other parts of the country.<ref name=Lawrence /> It is suggested the history of witchcraft in the area contributes to a raise in status of women in the area overall.<ref name=Lawrence />