Modern Witch Hunts Persist Globally, Art Reflects the Crisis

The UN reports that violence against women under the guise of witch hunting is rising across Africa, Saudi Arabia, the Caribbean, Oceania, and Latin America. Contemporary artists like Camilla Vuorenmaa, Fran Greene, Helene Hulak, Kiki Smith, Andy Warhol, Alejandra Hernández, Jesse Jones, Delaine Le Bas, and Monica Sjoo depict witches to highlight ongoing persecution. Factors include civil unrest, poverty, gender inequality, patriarchal societies, and religious fundamentalism, especially Pentecostalism. Victims include elderly women, widows, disabled children, immigrants, and Indigenous communities. In Saudi Arabia, witchcraft remains a criminal offense. In Benin, breech-born babies are branded witches. In the UK, about 2,000 ritual abuse cases have been reported. The term 'witch hunt' is misused by politicians, trivializing real violence. Memorials exist in Zugarramurdi, Spain; Forfar, Scotland; and Vardo, Norway.