Witchcraft

==Witch-hunts and thwarting witchcraft==
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[[File:Witch Bottles Curse Protection.jpg|thumb|A witch bottle, used as counter-magic against witchcraft]]
Societies that believed in witchcraft also believed that it could be thwarted in various ways. One common way was to use [[Apotropaic magic|protective magic or counter-magic]], of which the [[cunning folk]] were experts.{{r|HuttonFear|p=24-25}} This included charms, [[talisman]]s and [[amulet]]s, anti-[[Apotropaic mark|witch marks]], [[witch bottle]]s, [[witch ball]]s, and burying objects such as [[horse skulls]] inside the walls of buildings.<ref>Hoggard, Brian (2004). "The archaeology of counter-witchcraft and popular magic", in ''Beyond the Witch Trials: Witchcraft and Magic in Enlightenment Europe'',  Manchester University Press. p. 167{{ISBN?}}</ref> Another believed cure for bewitchment was to persuade or force the alleged witch to lift their spell.{{r|HuttonFear|p=24-25}} Often, people would attempt to thwart the witchcraft by physically punishing the alleged witch, such as by banishing, wounding, torturing or killing them. "In most societies, however, a formal and legal remedy was preferred to this sort of private action", whereby the alleged witch would be prosecuted and then formally punished if found guilty.{{r|HuttonFear|p=24-25}} This often resulted in execution.

=== Accusations of witchcraft ===
[[File:There is a flock of yellow birds around her head.jpg|thumb|Alleged witches being accused in the [[Salem witch trials]]]]

Throughout the world, accusations of witchcraft are often linked to social and economic tensions. Females are most often accused, but in some cultures it is mostly males. In many societies, accusations are directed mainly against the elderly, but in others age is not a factor, and in some cultures it is mainly adolescents who are accused.{{r|HuttonFear|p=15}} 

[[Éva Pócs]] writes that reasons for accusations of witchcraft fall into four general categories. The first three of which were proposed by [[Richard Kieckhefer]], and the fourth added by [[Christina Larner]]:{{r|Pocs|p=9-10}}
# A person was caught in the act of positive or negative [[Sorcery (goetia)|sorcery]]
# A well-meaning sorcerer or healer lost their clients' or the authorities' trust
# A person did nothing more than gain the enmity of their neighbors
# A person was reputed to be a witch and surrounded with an aura of witch-beliefs or [[occultism]].

===Modern witch-hunts===
{{main|Witch-hunt|Witch trials in the early modern period|Modern witch-hunts}}

Witch-hunts, scapegoating, and the [[shunning]] or [[murder]] of suspected witches still occurs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pearlman |first=Jonathan |date=11 April 2013 |title=Papua New Guinea urged to halt witchcraft violence after latest 'sorcery' case |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group]] |location=London, England |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/papuanewguinea/9987294/Papua-New-Guinea-urged-to-halt-witchcraft-violence-after-latest-sorcery-case.html |access-date=5 April 2018 |archive-date=11 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211174243/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/papuanewguinea/9987294/Papua-New-Guinea-urged-to-halt-witchcraft-violence-after-latest-sorcery-case.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Many cultures worldwide continue to have a belief in the concept of "witchcraft" or malevolent magic.{{r|AnkarlooClark}} 
Apart from [[Extrajudicial punishment|extrajudicial violence]], state-sanctioned violence also occurs in some jurisdictions. For instance, in [[Saudi Arabia]] practicing witchcraft and sorcery is a crime [[punishable by death]] and the country has executed people for this crime in 2011, 2012 and 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saudi woman beheaded for 'witchcraft and sorcery' |date=13 December 2011 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/13/world/meast/saudi-arabia-beheading/ |access-date=2014-06-07 |publisher=Edition.cnn.com |archive-date=2020-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521231628/https://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/13/world/meast/saudi-arabia-beheading/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-06-19 |title= Saudi man executed for 'witchcraft and sorcery' |work=BBC News |publisher=Bbc.com |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18503550 |access-date=2014-06-07 |archive-date=2019-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530091343/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18503550 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="di Giovanni">{{Cite news |last=di Giovanni |first=Janine |date=14 October 2014 |title=When It Comes to Beheadings, ISIS Has Nothing Over Saudi Arabia |work=Newsweek |url=http://www.newsweek.com/2014/10/24/when-it-comes-beheadings-isis-has-nothing-over-saudi-arabia-277385.html |access-date=17 October 2014 |archive-date=16 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016223514/http://www.newsweek.com/2014/10/24/when-it-comes-beheadings-isis-has-nothing-over-saudi-arabia-277385.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Witchcraft-related violence is often discussed as a serious issue in the broader context of [[violence against women]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013 |title=A Global Issue that Demands Action |url=http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/Co-publications/Femicide_A%20Gobal%20Issue%20that%20demands%20Action.pdf |access-date=2014-06-07 |publisher=the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Office |archive-date=2014-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630215522/http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/Co-publications/Femicide_A%20Gobal%20Issue%20that%20demands%20Action.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Diwan |first=Mohammed |date=1 July 2004 |title=Conflict between State Legal Norms and Norms Underlying Popular Beliefs: Witchcraft in Africa as a Case Study |url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/djcil/vol14/iss2/5/ |journal=Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=351–388 |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225231102/https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/djcil/vol14/iss2/5/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |date= 2009 |title=Witch Hunts in Modern South Africa: An Under-represented Facet of Gender-based Violence |url=http://www.mrc.ac.za/crime/witchhunts.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425074549/http://www.mrc.ac.za/crime/witchhunts.pdf |archive-date=2012-04-25 |access-date=2014-06-07 |publisher=MRC-UNISA Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programm |citeseerx=10.1.1.694.6630}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nepal: Witchcraft as a Superstition and a form of violence against women in Nepal |url=http://www.humanrights.asia/opinions/columns/AHRC-ETC-056-2011 |access-date=2014-06-07 |website=Humanrights.asia |publisher=Asian Human Rights Commission |archive-date=2014-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625033851/http://www.humanrights.asia/opinions/columns/AHRC-ETC-056-2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Adinkrah |first=Mensah |date=April 2004 |title=Witchcraft Accusations and Female Homicide Victimization in Contemporary Ghana |journal=Violence Against Women |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=325–356 |doi=10.1177/1077801204263419 |s2cid=146650565}}</ref> In Tanzania, an estimated 500 older women are murdered each year following accusations of witchcraft or accusations of being a witch, according to a 2014 [[World Health Organization]] report.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Report on Violence and Health |url=https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap5.pdf |access-date=2014-06-07 |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |archive-date=2014-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124045330/http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap5.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Children who live in some regions of the world, such as parts of Africa, are also vulnerable to violence that is related to witchcraft accusations.<ref>Bussien, Nathaly et al. 2011. Breaking the spell: Responding to witchcraft accusations against children, in New Issues in refugee Research (197). Geneva, Switzerland: UNHCR</ref><ref>Cimpric, Aleksandra 2010. Children accused of witchcraft, An anthropological study of contemporary practices in Africa. Dakar, Senegal: UNICEF WCARO</ref><ref>Molina, Javier Aguilar 2006. "The Invention of Child Witches in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Social cleansing, religious commerce and the difficulties of being a parent in an urban culture". London: Save the Children</ref><ref>Human Rights Watch 2006. Children in the DRC. Human Rights Watch report, 18 (2)</ref> Such incidents have also occurred in immigrant communities in the UK, including the much publicized case of the [[murder of Victoria Climbié]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-03-05 |title=Witchcraft murder: Couple jailed for Kristy Bamu killing |work=BBC News |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17255470 |access-date=2014-06-08 |archive-date=2014-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408060045/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17255470 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dangerfield |first=Andy |date=2012-03-01 |title=Government urged to tackle 'witchcraft belief' child abuse |work=BBC News |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17006924 |access-date=2014-06-08 |archive-date=2014-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008203907/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17006924 |url-status=live }}</ref>