Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology

Witchcraft and Asylum: Italian Judges Innovatively Engaging in Anthropological Investigation to Ascertain a Witch-Child’s Mother’s Risk of Persecution

by Silvia Carta

Question(s) at stake

Whether the risk of persecution for being the mother of a witch-child provides grounds for asylum.

Outcome of the ruling

The Turin Court grants the appeal and declares that the applicant is entitled to refugee status for being the mother of a witch-child.

Country:

Italy

Official citation

Ordinary Court Turin, Decree of 3 February 2020, No. 741 (Tribunale Ordinario di Torino, Decreto del 3 febbraio 2020, n. 741)

Topic(s)

Keywords:

Real Risk of persecution Gender based persecution International protection Refugee status

Tag(s):

Witchcraft Child persecution

Bibliographic information

Carta, Silvia (2025): Witchcraft and Asylum: Italian Judges Innovatively Engaging in Anthropological Investigation to Ascertain a Witch-Child’s Mother’s Risk of Persecution, Department of Law and Anthropology, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Saale), Germany, CUREDI092IT004, https://doi.org/10.48509/CUREDI092IT004.

About the authors

Silvia Carta (Department of law, University of Cagliari, Italy)