The SNAP or SARV NAP (Sorcery National Action Plan or Sorcery Accusation Related Violence National Action Plan) is the official document that gathers the different necessary actions that have been envisaged in order to counteract sorcery related violence in Papua New Guinea with the support of the national Government and many other relevant stakeholders.
This is the exact text of the document developed by the SNAP leading Committee and proposed to and endorsed by the National Executive Council of Papua New Guinea.
If you want to download the official document, you can find it here.
Sorcery and Witchcraft Accusation Related Violence – National Action Plan
Vision
- PNG society is free from sorcery and witchcraft related violence through strengthened partnerships between relevant stakeholders.
Mission
- To stop accusations leading to sorcery related violence
- To deal effectively with the perpetrators of violence.
- To address the needs of survivors and to restore security to the communities, within the legal policy frameworks and acceptable values and norms.
Background
In 2013, widespread publicity given to the deaths of two women accused of witchcraft in Papua New Guinea (PNG) drew international and national attention to the problem of sorcery and witchcraft accusation–related violence. In the face of mounting pressure to take action, including the national haus krai protest calling for an end to violence against women, the PNG Government responded by repealing the Sorcery Act 1971 and creating a new provision in the Criminal Code Act 1974 (Chapter 262). However, there is growing recognition, both within the government and the wider community that these problems cannot be solved solely at a legislative level, and must rather involve a holistic response. This recognition led to a national conversation that has led to this present draft national action plan to provide a concrete foundation for the holistic response.
The first step in the development of the action plan was the holding of a conference titled Sorcery and Witchcraft Accusations: Developing a National Response to Overcome the Violence, in Goroka, PNG, in December 2013. It was convened by the PNG Department of Justice and Attorney General (DJAG), together with the Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Committee, and partners from the Melanesian Institute, the University of Goroka, State Society and Governance in Melanesia Program (SSGM), and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The conference followed from an earlier regional conference on the issue hosted by SSGM in Canberra in June 2013.
In the planning stages for the Goroka conference it was decided to focus on breaking the link between sorcery accusations and violence. This was a pragmatic decision that recognised that violence is the most problematic aspect of the beliefs in PNG today. It was also intended to allow some conceptual separation between the beliefs themselves and the violent responses to accusations of sorcery or witchcraft, although there is considerable debate about the extent to which this separation can in fact be made.
The last step was a workshop on 12–13 June 2014 in Port Moresby in which 80 or so participants from a range of government departments and civil society, church and academic institutions drafted this action plan. The plan adopts a comprehensive approach and involves a number of government ministries and their departments, including the Department of Health, the Department of Education, the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, the Department for Community Development and Religion, and DJAG. It also includes a range of non-government organisations, such as Oxfam, the Highlands Human Rights Defenders, the Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee’s networks, church organisation networks, and international development partners, such as DFAT and the United Nations.
The problem of violence arising from sorcery and witchcraft accusations was recognised by participants as being symptomatic of a range of social stresses. These include declining health and education services, increased economic disparities as a result of the extractive industries, weakened local governance mechanisms, stresses on land, and population displacement. As such, the problems are tackled in the plan on two levels. On one level, the recommendations aim to treat some of these underlying issues, in particular health services and awareness about legal rights and responsibilities. On the other level, the recommendations are directed towards diminishing the violence that these stresses are causing. Although these responses deal only with the symptoms of the problems, and therefore may be criticised as being superficial, they were considered by participants as necessary to stop and alleviate the human suffering that is currently occurring.
The plan has five core areas:
(1) Advocacy and Communications,
(2) Medical,
(3) Legal and Protection,
(4) Care and Counselling, and
(5) Research.
Each area contains a few key recommendations and sets out concrete activities to be taken in both the short and medium term to implement the recommendations. The action plan also allocates specific responsibilities to particular departments and organisations, establishes time frames and highlights the resources (human and financial) that are necessary or available to implement them.
The main focus of the plan is to address the violence caused by those who accuse others of sorcery and to encourage people to deal with sorcery accusations through non-violent means. This plan adopts a broad definition of sorcery to mean the belief, and those practices associated with the belief, that one human being is capable of harming another by magical or supernatural means.
The implementation of the plan will be the responsibility of each of the lead agencies that are identified as being responsible for particular activities. Each of the five sections will have a sub-working group/ sub-committee that will be responsible for developing a monitoring and evaluation framework for the section and following up with the implementation process. The plan will have an overall co-ordinating mechanism in the form of the Technical Committee Against Sorcery Accusation Related Violence. This Committee will be comprised of representatives of the five different sub-working groups/ sub-committees and will meet at least quarterly. The Committee will also be responsible for developing an overall monitoring and evaluation strategy and a comprehensive review two years after the start of its implementation. The Technical Committee will be responsible to the Human Rights Forum (chaired by DJAG) and will report at each of the Forum’s quarterly meetings as a regular item on the agenda.
Five Part Strategy
Click on each one of the areas to know more about the key actions planned around it.
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1.1. Counselling
1. To support the development of training in counselling programs for a range of service providers
2. To improve repatriation and support services for survivors, particularly taking into account people with special needs such as the elderly and disabled.
3. To mobilize key stakeholders to ensure coordinated support services for survivors, taking into account the gendered context in which the violence takes place.
4. To develop, review, utilise and enforce legislation and other support structures in cases of sorcery accusation related violence where children are involved (as relatives and survivors)
5. Seif Haus (Care)
1.2 Health Sector
1. To raise awareness about the issue of sorcery and witchcraft related violence within the health sector
2. Improved explanations about the disease process to patients and their families
3. Facilitate access to justice by providing medical evidence of illness and explanations
4. Community based awareness raising about public health problems and diagnosis
5. To develop and publicise the need for prevention / screening
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1. To develop advocacy and awareness materials and messages to counter sorcery-accusation related violence
2. To develop and implement a strategy to ensure the communication of the materials and messages to key stakeholders and the broader public
3. To identify and network with organisations and individuals to provide mutual support and assistance
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1. To review the repealed Sorcery Act 1971 and re-enact certain provisions, if any are needed, into relevant pieces of legislation (Summary Offences Act-1977, Village Courts Act-1989, Evidence Act- 1975, Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 2002, Family Protection Act 2013).
2. To ensure that cases involving sorcery and witchcraft accusation related violence are dealt with through the criminal justice system.
3. Develop mechanisms and awareness to ensure that the general population and service providers know what the law is, who has responsibility and authority to act, and how they can be contacted and mobilized.
4. Develop or strengthen mechanisms to protect and support those who take steps to prevent sorcery accusation related violence and to support targets of this violence, including health workers, community leaders, religious actors, civil society actors and others.
5. Develop a strategy for mediating sorcery and witchcraft related accusation at community level
6. The police in conjunction with the courts to develop an action plan to deal with the current difficulties in arresting and prosecuting perpetrators of sorcery and witchcraft
7. National judicial training (including village court magistrates) to be expanded/ strengthened in dealing with sorcery accusations and associated violence
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1. To develop an evidence-based research framework to address sorcery accusation related violence
2. To establish a central research hub for networking and collaboration
If you are interesting on seeing the specific Implementation Plan, with activities, leading agencies and timeframes, you can find it here.
