Although in the majority of the cases younger women are at higher risk of sorcery/witchcraft violence, a study has found that in some parts of Africa, older women are more vulnerable to sorcery-related femicide due to their economic dependence on others, or the property rights that they hold-and which younger members of the family want to inherit. Also, if women are perceived as dangerous and a threat to men, their labelling as witches, and consequently their destruction, is then seen as justified.
Legal status
Non-negotiated soft law
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences