Contemporary Practices of Witch Hunting: a Report on Social Trends and the Interface with Law.

Abstract

Partners for Law in Development (PLD) conducted a field study in three states, Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, with support from the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) to document and analyse trends in the contemporary practices of witch hunting as well as their interface with the law. The data from the field was collected by community organizations that PLD collaborated with in all three states. The data collected through all the three sources indicates that witch hunting primarily targets women. In 46 out of 48 case studies, the primary victims are women. An analysis of the police records and the reported judgments also indicated 86% primary targets of witch hunting to be women. The study looks at the laws, the provisions that are most frequently used and whether they provide redress that is commensurate with the nature and type of victimization.