Countries: India
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"In India’s Jharkhand state and other tribal areas, for example, tribal women often face an uphill battle in inheriting property, and, in some cases, allegations of witchcraft are wielded against them to silence their claims. They might be branded as witches on the most absurd of suspicions, socially excommunicated, or worse still, lynched by villagers, their corpses left to rot in public" (para 5).

Countries: Iran
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"A senior Iranian official said this weekend that Iran had abolished the morality police, the state media reported, after months of protests set off by the death of a young woman who was detained by the force for supposedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress laws" (para 1).

Countries: Angola
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"There were anecdotal reports that some communities abused women and children due to accusations the latter practiced witchcraft" (19).

Countries: Kenya
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"Gladys Wanjiku, 80, another Korogocho resident and member of the class, says criminals take advantage of the fact that most elderly women are widows who live by themselves. She says attackers follow elderly women to their houses during the day to see where they live, then return at night. 'Locking the door does not help because they come to the house and rip off parts of the wall as it’s made of recycled tins or corrugated iron. They rape and then strangle their victim,' she adds." (para.8) "Rosemary Ouma, 55, had heard about the group but never joined. Her wake-up call came in 2019 when a close friend was raped,...more

Countries: Malta
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1, DV-PRACTICE-1

"In cases of domestic violence and femicide, women almost always take the blame in the court of public opinion (Malta was obsessed by the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard libel case, which confirmed many people’s ideas about victims)."(Para.20).

Countries: Azerbaijan
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"One of the most high-profile cases of gender-based harassment against female journalists was that of Khadija Ismalylova. In 2012 she was blackmailed using footage of a sexual nature secretly filmed inside her apartment. She was threatened that these would be made public if she did not stop her work as a journalist. When she refused to comply, the recordings were published online. The ensuing smear campaign vilified her for having an intimate relationship as an unmarried woman and led her brother to threaten to kill her for 'dishonouring' the family. In 2014-2015 Khadija Ismalylova spent one and a half years in prison on trumped-up charges. The European Court of Human...more

Countries: Mexico
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"Her absence was an immediate red flag for family and colleagues. Díaz loved her work and was diligent about showing up. Friends and relatives, aware of the alarming frequency with which women disappear here, papered their city of Ecatepec with flyers featuring her photo. After four days without any sign of Díaz, 30, they blocked the busy street in front of her school for three hours to demand action from authorities. Two days after the protest, her body was found in the brush alongside a highway." (para 2-3)(NF - CODER COMMENT - The amount of pressure that had to be lievied on local law enforcement shows that there is an...more

Countries: Nepal
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

The Witchcraft related Accusation (Offence and Punishment) Act, 2015 has been enforced aiming at eliminating the superstitious belief and harmful traditional practice of witchcraft allegation against women and men. It criminalizes the practices of inflicting torture, cruelty, inhumane and degrading treatment upon the person accused of witchcraft. Similarly, the Act also incorporates the provisions on victim support and compensation. (8)(NF - CODER COMMENT - The enactment of this law shows that there have been enough cases of women being accused of being witches and have been either injured or killed by these accusations. Thus, it could have been seen as socially acceptable for quite some time). "Positive activism manifested by...more

Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said they must immediately stop getting complainants in rape and serious sexual offence cases to sign forms, known in England and Wales as Stafford statements, which give officers general consent to obtain often highly sensitive third-party materials, including medical, education and counselling records" (Para.2).

Countries: Nigeria
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"Boko Haram jihadists slaughtered at least 26 women by slitting their throats after their commander accused them of being witches who caused the sudden death of his children in Nigeria." (para 1). "Around 40 women were held in a village near Gwoza town in Borno State, north-eastern Nigeria, on the orders of jihadist commander Ali Guyile after his children suddenly died overnight, according to relatives and a woman who escaped. They said the commander had accused the women of causing the children's deaths through witchcraft." (para 2-3). "On Thursday last week, 14 women were slaughtered in Gwoza town and a few days later, another 12 were killed by the Boko...more

Countries: Iran
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"Soheila Abadi, now 25, was hanged in prison after she was convicted of killing her husband over 'family disputes' according to the sentencing courts. Two other women executed on Wednesday were also convicted of murdering their husbands, Human Rights Watch said. Activists claim that most incidents of wives killing their husbands are sparked by domestic violence but the Iranian courts do not take this into account" (para 2-4)."Under Iranian law, the death penalty can be imposed for financial crimes, rape and armed robbery" (para 18). "Other activities protected by international human rights law such as homosexual acts, extramarital sexual relations and speech deemed 'insulting to the Prophet of Islam' as...more

Countries: Zimbabwe
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"Although less common than witchcraft accusations, ritual attacks on children – especially those with albinism – are also often motivated by greed, a desire for power or a belief that their body parts can stave off ancestral wrath and cure everything from male impotency to poverty. Girls with albinism and mothers of children with albinism suffer extreme violence, including having their arms and legs hacked off while still alive...Despite child protection laws, there remains a widespread problem in ...Madagascar, Niger, Angola, Eswatini, Liberia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Burundi..." (para 8, 11).

Countries: South Africa
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"Although less common than witchcraft accusations, ritual attacks on children – especially those with albinism – are also often motivated by greed, a desire for power or a belief that their body parts can stave off ancestral wrath and cure everything from male impotency to poverty. Girls with albinism and mothers of children with albinism suffer extreme violence, including having their arms and legs hacked off while still alive...Despite child protection laws, there remains a widespread problem in ...Tanzania, Central African Republic, Nigeria and South Africa" (para 8, 11).

Countries: Tanzania
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"Although less common than witchcraft accusations, ritual attacks on children – especially those with albinism – are also often motivated by greed, a desire for power or a belief that their body parts can stave off ancestral wrath and cure everything from male impotency to poverty. Girls with albinism and mothers of children with albinism suffer extreme violence, including having their arms and legs hacked off while still alive...Tanzania has established safe houses to protect children with albinism" (para 8, 10). "Despite child protection laws, there remains a widespread problem in ...Tanzania, Central African Republic, Nigeria and South Africa" (para 11).

Countries: Angola, Burundi, Liberia, Madagascar, Niger
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1

"Although less common than witchcraft accusations, ritual attacks on children – especially those with albinism – are also often motivated by greed, a desire for power or a belief that their body parts can stave off ancestral wrath and cure everything from male impotency to poverty. Girls with albinism and mothers of children with albinism suffer extreme violence, including having their arms and legs hacked off while still alive...Despite child protection laws, there remains a widespread problem in ...Madagascar, Niger, Angola, Eswatini, Liberia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Burundi..." (para 8, 11).