An intelligent, reasonable person would be forgiven for thinking that witch burning is something that no longer happens anywhere but in the movies. Unfortunately, they’d be wrong. In some far-flung corners of the world people actually still, 1) believe that sorcery is the cause of their problems and, 2) it’s okay to burn someone they think is a witch.

Lately, New Guinea has seen several cases of persecution. Amnesty International has repeatedly called for investigations into these killings but, so far, there has been little information forthcoming. The latest attacks occurred on Easter when six women were tortured with hot irons as an “Easter sacrifice.” There is so much fail in that idea, where does one begin? There is only one sacrifice applicable to Easter and that is the one Jesus made. Somehow I don’t think He’d be thrilled with these women being attacked in His name on the anniversary of His death. Sadly, Jesus hasn’t really had much of a say in this sort of thing, historically.

The six women, according to the husband of two of them, were stripped, trussed and tortured by having hot irons shoved into their vaginas. Amnesty alerted authorities after the attack was reported in The National newspaper the day after the March 28th incident. Amnesty International’s Pacific researcher Kate Schuetze was furious:

“The priority must be to find out the fate of the six women. The perpetrators must also be brought to justice for the abduction and crimes of sexual and other violence, if confirmed.”





The rash of “sorcery violence” in New Guinea came to world attention last month after a picture of a 20-year-old mother’s body burning on a pile of garbage was published. The woman, who lived in a village in the Western Highlands, had been accused of causing a young boy’s death. A crowd of hundreds, many of whom were children, watched as she was stripped, tortured, doused with gasoline and set ablaze. Police in the crowd say they tried to stop the mob but were badly outnumbered. The perpetrators of this grisly murder have been charged, thankfully. The mother and uncle of the boy who died were charged on Monday with the murder of Kepari Leniata. The police expect more arrests. The 6-year-old boy whose death set this murder in motion had died in the hospital.

This sort of violence occurs regularly in the area, according to Schuetze. Belief in sorcery is widespread in the Pacific nation, where the natives do not accept natural causes for death and misfortune. Think back to Europe during the Middle Ages, when anyone could accuse anyone else of witchcraft and there was no recourse. But this is the 21st century, and it is gloomy to think there are still places where this could happen. Sadly, New Guinea hasn’t yet joined the rest of us in this century – they regularly practice cannibalism, too.

Schuetze, in her role with Amnesty International, is doing her best but she needs the New Guinea government to step up and get with the program.

“The government must take urgent action to prevent any further ‘sorcery’-related violence and must also provide the survivors with support and full access to health and other services.” (Source)

The idea that women – and sometimes men – are still being accused and tortured for imagined crimes in this day and age is astonishing and troubling. As a pagan, I think it is important never to forget those burning times. But to see that they are still happening now is upsetting, to say the least. Hopefully, spreading this information will help stop these incidents. Let’s hope the New Guinea government gets their act together and puts a stop to it before more women suffer agonizing torture and death.

T. Steelman is a life-long Liberal. She has been writing online about politics since 2007. She lives in Western Washington with her husband, daughter, 2 cats and a small herd of alpacas. How can anybody be enlightened? Truth is, after all, so poorly lit…