Using Mobile Phones to Track Anti-Witchcraft Violence in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

This In Brief outlines the role new mobile phone– based research techniques can play in addressing this information deficit. It details a pilot project using mobile phones to record and report data about accusations of witchcraft at funerals. The pilot is part of a growing body of work that uses mobile phones to collect and record data in environments that are otherwise difficult to reach, and for a wide range of purposes, including health, education, agriculture and development. The project also shares important features with conflict-mapping programs which use mobiles phones to track and map outbreaks of violence. However, this pilot is the first to apply these new research techniques to the problem of anti-witchcraft violence. Show more