PNG Faces Growing Sorcery Violence Crisis, Tribal Foundation Warns

Nearly two women in Papua New Guinea are tortured or killed every day due to accusations of sorcery, a crisis that demands urgent national attention, the PNG Tribal Foundation has warned. The revelation came during the Live2Lead conference, hosted by the PNG Tribal Foundation in partnership with the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation, which brought together local and international leaders both in person and via global broadcast.

 PNG Faces Growing Sorcery Violence Crisis, Tribal Foundation Warns

Attendees gained insights from leadership experts including John Maxwell, Jesse Cole, and Anthony Trucks, while prominent PNG figures such as Sir Arnold Amet, Karo Maha, Karan Rana, Dan Nicholas, Iampela Popena, and GT Bustin delivered in-person addresses.

Tribal Foundation President GT Bustin revealed that since the 2022 passage of the Glassman Bill, the organization has supported more than 630 survivors, facilitated 149 arrests, and secured 14 successful prosecutions.

“In 2022, our legal team drafted the Glassman Bill, which was passed in parliament by Allan Bird,” Bustin said. “Now hundreds have been rescued from violence linked to false sorcery accusations.”

The Glassman Bill, officially the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2022, criminalizes “glasman” or “glasmeri” practices that falsely accuse people of sorcery, with penalties of up to 20 years for practitioners and 10 years for those hiring them.

Highlighting disturbing cases of women tortured or killed under these accusations, the foundation called for government, corporate, and community action to collectively address the issue.

Bustin urged corporate partners to join the initiative, saying, “Tribal Foundation is a registered charity, so we are able to give tax receipts. If your company is interested in being part of this fight to end sorcery accusation-related violence, we’ve built a model, the model is working but we need your support.”