Events

UNESCO is organizing on October 18 in Ouagadougou a Mega Advocacy against violence against women and girls for alleged witchcraft.

The United Nations defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, moral or psychological harm or suffering to women. Violence also includes acts of threat, coercion, or deprivation of liberty in private or public life. In Burkina Faso, in addition to these cases, there is so-called societal or cultural violence, which, because of their traditional and customary roots, seem legitimate, commonplace and ordinary. This is mainly violence related to accusations of witchcraft.

The belief in "witchcraft" is neither exclusive to Africa nor to Burkina Faso. Even if the concept of witchcraft is polysemous, in the context of Burkina Faso it generally refers to the belief in the supernatural capacity of a human being to harm his or her neighbor, which can lead to death. Accusation practices are accompanied by human rights violations: destruction of materials and property, multi-faceted violence (physical, moral, psychological) and exclusion from the community of origin. Women are the main targets of these accusations.

UNESCO is organizing on October 18 in Ouagadougou a Mega Advocacy against violence against women and girls for alleged witchcraft.

The United Nations defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, moral or psychological harm or suffering to women. Violence also includes acts of threat, coercion, or deprivation of liberty in private or public life. In Burkina Faso, in addition to these cases, there is so-called societal or cultural violence, which, because of their traditional and customary roots, seem legitimate, commonplace and ordinary. This is mainly violence related to accusations of witchcraft.

The belief in "witchcraft" is neither exclusive to Africa nor to Burkina Faso. Even if the concept of witchcraft is polysemous, in the context of Burkina Faso it generally refers to the belief in the supernatural capacity of a human being to harm his or her neighbor, which can lead to death. Accusation practices are accompanied by human rights violations: destruction of materials and property, multi-faceted violence (physical, moral, psychological) and exclusion from the community of origin. Women are the main targets of these accusations.

URL:

https://events.unesco.org/event?id=2372142176&lang=1033