Expert: Sorcery violence sexist

 VIOLENCE inflicted on women and girls suspected of sorcery-related crimes by men are sexist in nature, Family and Sexual Violence Committee executive director Ume Wainetti says.
Wainetti said men often accused women of sorcery and witchcraft and made them suffer.
“Sorcery and witchcraft-related violence is  profound and horrifying (that) it must be addressed quickly,” she said. “Sorcery and witchcraft issues are not limited to one geographical location but found everywhere in PNG, which makes it a national issue.
“As a result, we need to do more advocacies to minimise this. “It has become evident that sorcery and witchcraft-related cases are occurring between immediate family members. The victims have no government services that can be used as a safe haven, which makes this everyone’s problem to address.
“The Government has taken a strong stand on violence related to sorcery and witchcraft but the law alone cannot solve this. It needs to be implemented by stakeholders. This includes the com­munity, Government agencies, churches, non-government organisations and the international community.”