Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 39

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Women accused of witchcraft in Ghana are often violently driven from their communities and forced to take refuge in "witch camps". Many widows are subjected to property-related violence, including violent evictions and loss of inheritance; and subjected to sexual abuse and harassment by relatives. In India, based on accusations of being a dayan (witch) or practising banamathi (witchcraft), physical violence is sometimes employed against Dalit women as a mechanism to take possession of their family lands and/or to keep them under economic subjugation, sexual exploitation, gender domination and control. In Nepal, particularly in the southern Terai region, elderly women, widows, destitute women and women of low caste are often targeted and deprived of their property rights or victimized to settle a personal vendetta.
Legal status
Non-negotiated soft law
Body
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Means of adoption
N.A.
Topic(s)
  • Gender
  • Violence
Person(s) affected
  • Families
  • Women
Year
2012
Paragraph type
Other
Paragraph number
39