Beaten and named a sorcerer by her community, Mary fled her home. With support from Oxfam and the Kafe Urban Settlers Women’s Association, Mary was able to access the crisis services she needed and safely return to her village. The project Responding to Gender-Based and Sorcery-Related Violence in the Highlands sits within Oxfam’s Gender Justice program in Papua New Guinea. The project started in 2014 to respond to sorcery-related accusations and violence by providing repatriation and reintegration support and crisis services to survivors. The first phase researched repatriation as a viable pathway out of violence, and since then, the approach has been expanded nationally. Pacific Women funding includes support for Oxfam’s partner Kafe Urban Settlers Women’s Association (KUSWA) in Eastern Highlands Province. Below is a case study, showcasing one survivor’s experience with KUSWA under this project.
