Attacks on elderly women accused of being witches who bring bad luck are increasing in South Africa as a result of spreading tension, jealousy and mistrust, researchers say in a report made public on Monday.
The report, drawn up after a three-year study by local and Dutch academics, found that deteriorating social relations in black communities were responsible for an escalation of witchcraft accusations in recent years.
”People accused of being witches often fall victim to people who take the law into their own hands,” it said.
”Many have been killed while others have been chased away from their homes. They are forced to live in a place of special refuge, often under miserable conditions.”
The project’s leader, Thias Kgatla, a professor at the University of the North in northeastern Limpopo province, said rural communities needed to be educated about the causes and prevention of illnesses and disasters such as lightning strikes so they did not blame such incidents on witchcraft.
The report, entitled Crossing Witchcraft Barriers in South Africa and funded by the South Africa-Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development, said there had been increasing polarisation in black communities.
”The deterioration of social relations in South Africa can to a large extent be held responsible for the escalation of witchcraft accusations in recent years,” the study said. – Sapa-AFP