CIVIL LAW PATHWAYS TO ADDRESSING SORCERY ACCUSATION RELATED VIOLENCE
This article is authored by The Voice Inc and Dr Miranda Forsyth as part of a series supporting the work of the Kundiawa SARV legal desk and its partners.
Members of the Kundiawa SARV Coalition
PNG’s criminal justice system is struggling to effectively address sorcery accusation related violence (SARV). Maybe it is time to also explore some possibilities for using the civil law instead?
Civil law cases can be brought by individual survivors, and so there is no need to work through police and prosecutors. Civil law cases can help survivors meet their needs for protection from further accusations and compensation for injury they have suffered, either to their reputation or physical injuries. Another advantage to the civil law pathway is that it can pave the way for reintegration for survivors back into their communities, through re-building relationships.
So, how does the civil pathway work? It can mean bringing a case to the District Court for defamation or seeking compensation for physical injuries. For example, in one case in 2021, a woman brought charges against her inlaws who had claimed they saw a fruit bat fly out of her body. The court awarded her 3000 Kina compensation.
Relief in defamation cases may even extend to warnings against an entire community not to engage in sorcery accusations. This happened in another case in 2021 where the court ordered an entire community to stop spreading rumours and accusations of sorcery against a man and his family.
In 2022 there was a case where a man who was accused of sorcery and assaulted brought a claim in assault and serious injuries. The court awarded compensation of two pigs and 6000 Kina.
The District Court can also make orders for restraining orders and interim protection orders in order to stop people from making accusations, or taking any actions in relation to accusations already made. This is important because it can prevent violence from getting started.
Of course, it’s not a choice of either reporting to the police or bringing a civil case - people can do both- but more emphasis has been placed on the criminal pathway to date. It is important for survivors to choose for themselves how they want to proceed, and what justice looks like to them.
One obstacle for them in making such choices has been the lack of legal support for those who cannot afford lawyers.
That is why, in January 2024, the Catholic Diocese of Kundiawa, the Kundiawa Hospital, the Highlands Human Rights Defenders Network and The Voice Inc, came together to set up a legal desk for SARV victims in Kundiawa. The legal desk supports the criminal justice system by providing civil law remedies and assisting SARV victims with legal advice. The desk also provides a referral service for organisations & police supporting and rescuing SARV victims in the area.
The legal desk is an important investment for the church, provincial government and civil society, who are deeply committed to local solutions for this complex national problem.
For more information on the legal desk or if you need legal advice for a SARV victim in Kundiawa contact here (popur@thevoicepng.org or call 7245 1083).