Women as Easy Scapegoats

Abstract

This article revisits a much-debated question: Why are women popular targets during witch hunts? By using in-depth interviews this article provides an answer. Women are easy targets or scapegoats for two reasons. First, it is widely believed in the community that was studied that witches do, in fact, exist, and the images of witches are always female. Second, tribal women hold lower positions than men in all social, political, and ritual matters, and this contributes to their vulnerability during the hunt for scapegoats. This article also highlights the roles that rumors play during manipulation of witchcraft accusations to gather support for witch hunts.

Representations of Mental Illness in a Ga Community in Southern Ghana

“…For example, since witchcraft is perceived by many as a cause of mental illness, removing triggers would ostensibly involve concerted efforts to remove all witches (whose identities are largely unknown) from society. The dangers of a mass witch hunt evoke memories of The Salem Witch Trials, and more recently, Northern Ghanaian settlements (called witch camps) that house ostracized women accused of witchcraft (Mutaru, 2018) and often violent witch hunts in India (Chaudhuri, 2012; Overdorf, 2017). Essentially, attempts to eliminate perceived spiritual causes of mental illness would result in a victimization shift away from the mentally ill to create another disenfranchised group—typically poor, older women, and in a few cases, young children (Adinkrah, 2011).…”

Mob Violence: A Threat to Society

“…Earlier examinations failed to attribute the more positive social impacts that groups can have on an individual's behaviour, and there is much more work to be done in this intriguing area of study. 5 What is that which impacts the lynch crowd psychologically that without fearing any repercussions they act violently here are some of the reasons for it :…”

A Study on the Practice of Witch-Hunting in Assam, an Ontology

“…The concept of scapegoat theory in the context of witch hunt and violence against women can be explained through the theory of dual deviance (Chaudhuri, 2012). A deviant group (the accused and family) on one side and the moral entrepreneurs (the accuser/labeling) group on the other.…”