Laxman Majhi, who has been sensitising the community about the evils of witchcraft and witch-hunts in Baramal village in Keonjhar district, said “The punishment for victims is horrible. “Although some men are also attacked for practising sorcery, over 90 per cent of the targets of witch-hunts are women,” said Sharma, adding that “A witch is just a social paraphrase to intimidate women, reinforce male suppression and fuel violence against women in the name of curbing evils of sorcery.” The vulnerable groups labelled as witches are often elderly and single women living alone in their property, childless women, widows, divorcees and physically challenged women.