Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Humanist Society Scotland submission of 5 July 2021
PE1855/B - Pardon and memorialise those convicted under the Witchcraft Act 1563
Humanist Society Scotland supports the petition PE1855 in recognising, pardoning and having a memorial to those convicted under historic 'Witchcraft' laws.
As the petition's committee has already heard in evidence submitted by the petitioners, thousands of people in Scotland faced persecution, torture and execution under such statutes. Such persecution was overwhelmingly directed at women and much of the 'evidence' and 'expertise' on witchcraft was based on falsehoods, personal obsessions and irrational beliefs which fuelled a moral panic. Witchcraft accusations and persecution were also meted out on individuals who did not conform with religious or societal expectations as a way to 'punish' their misdemeanours.
We support the petition and parliament learning from other jurisdictions, notably Massachusetts USA, on ways in which historical abuses handed out by the state on accusations of witchcraft may be sensibly accounted for and, in some way, rectified.
Humanist Society Scotland too is aware of and calls for better understanding of current witchcraft based violence in other states. For the past six years Humanist Society Scotland has held a twinning partnership with Humanists Malawi as part of the Scotland Malawi Partnership. A significant part of Humanists Malawi work in recent years has been on education of the public at large and campaigning on behalf of those accused of witchcraft and the impacts of such persecution.
The campaign group Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW) have highlighted how the approach of some Western NGO's to have "respect for African religious and cultural beliefs" fail to condemn or properly tackle witchcraft based violence because they refuse to determine such beliefs as 'superstitions'. The AfAW state that attempts to tackle the issue by Western NGOs are at best 'wishy-washy programs that paper over the problem of witchcraft allegations'. We would encourage the Scottish Government and the committee, when considering this petition on historical witchcraft, to also consider how the Government's current work in international development - particularly through the Scotland Malawi Partnership - can better challenge witchcraft based violence.