Don't show me this message again✕ Posters warning against violence at a police station in Wabag, Papua New Guinea (AFP/Getty) A rising number of women in Papua New Guinea have suffered brutal violence after being falsely accused of carrying out witchcraft, campaigners have warned. Human Rights Watch noted that accusations over sorcery often surface when there has been a sudden death or illness in the community, and said that the increase in attacks could be linked to a steep rise in coronavirus cases in the southwestern Pacific country. The organisation called for the authorities to take measures to urgently stop disinformation about Covid-19 deaths in a bid to prevent more attacks being carried out in relation to allegations of sorcery.