Experts from a range of fields have gathered in Papua New Guinea to discuss an increase in sorcery killings and come up with ways to stop them.

There have been a spate of gruesome sorcery killings this year, including one where a woman was burnt alive on a main street in one of PNG's biggest towns.

The belief in sorcery or witchcraft is widespread in PNG. Even well-educated Papua New Guineans believe supernatural powers can be used to harm or kill.

The conference in Goroka aims to present the government with a comprehensive plan to address the problem.

Some experts believe sorcery killings are becoming more frequent, more violent and spreading to areas where they have never been seen before.

Reverend Jack Urame, from the Melanesian Institute, says the increase is attributable to the collapse of traditional society and a lack of development.

"While lack of development is evident in many places, people's expectations for a better life is high," he said.

"However, when expectations are not met, people resort to sorcery as a means of seeking answers or as a short cut to meet the expectations."

Conference organiser Ume Wainetti, from the Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee, believes decisive action is needed.

"Many of us have either been sitting back or too scared to say anything. In the last two years we've seen more and more women being killed and for many of us it's a gender issue," she said.

Victims of sorcery-related violence

People at the conference were brought to tears upon hearing of Sister Regina Arre's ordeal. ( ABC )

Sr Regina Arre, from Chimbu province in PNG's highlands, is lucky to be alive.

Last year, a male relative of her husband died and her husband's family accused her of using sorcery to kill him.

The 24-year-old shared her horrific ordeal at the Goroka conference.

"They got a knife and they put it onto my neck and said you must open your mouth and say yes I did this," she said.

When Sr Regina refused to open her mouth, her interrogators tortured her with a hot iron bar.

"They wanted to burn me alive but the good Lord didn't want me to die, so he saved my life ... I want to put it to the public," she said.

The conference heard the victims of sorcery killings are often women and the most vulnerable in society like the elderly, widows and orphaned children.

Deaths that are not readily explainable are quickly attributed to sorcery and the relatives of the dead look for someone to blame and exact revenge.

Victims are often women who have been accused of using supernatural powers to kill people.