Since the dawn of time society has used the witch hunt, in all its many and varied forms, to control the most marginalised members of our communities. In times of upheaval, whether that be economic, political or religious, or during huge cultural shifts, the need of the ruling class to demonise those at the bottom becomes ever more urgent. Focussing the blame for society’s ills on a certain group whilst othering and demonising them is a convenient distraction from the real causes of inequality and suffering. Sound familiar? Right now I can think of some real world examples, like the concerted campaign against refugees arriving in the UK in small boats and the consistent vilification of midwives and doulas accused of being members of a ‘cult of normal birth’.
Back in the 16th and 17th centuries fear and suspicion caused by famine, disease and instability became fertile ground for a moral panic that cast blame and shame on those who could not defend themselves. The narrative centred rulers, such as James I, as the hero and protector against the evil influence of witches, necromancers, demons and fairy folk.
But how would you recognise a modern day witch hunt? And in particular, how do we spot the red flags when it comes to Birth World hate campaigns?
Times of Uncertainty and Social Upheaval
Modern witch hunts tend to erupt in times of professional and cultural tension. We are living through such a moment in history right now and the birth world is no exception. At a time when the rise of the far right is threatening our freedoms, it is hardly surprising that we will notice a shoring up of the systems and forces that threaten our autonomy in birth, reproductive health and midwifery education.
Here are the first, clear red flags: Look for the push back against individuals and organisations that campaign for freedom in birth. Notice the fear-mongering and ‘crisis’ rhetoric that is used to justify tighter control or surveillance, especially of women’s knowledge or bodies.
Examples: JD Vance saying he would like to pregnancy test every woman that travels out of State and again when they return to catch them having abortions.
Parents being persuaded to submit to induction in order to save their babies from the dangers of remaining inside the woman’s inherently dangerous uterus, without explaining clearly the statistical risks and benefits of an induction vs awaiting spontaneous labour.
Women Who Transgress Social Norms
How do we predict who will be targets of modern day witch hunts? Well, historically, people accused of being witches were almost certainly women and often those who did not adhere to social norms. They may have been unmarried or widows, healers, herbalists and women who may have been outspoken, sexually autonomous or socially independent.
Today’s targets may be midwives, doulas and birth activists or those who challenge medical orthodoxy. Or they might be feminist academics or writers who question the status quo and ingrained institutional biases and injustices. Or sometimes they are online content creators whose message of bodily autonomy, integrity and trauma informed practice challenges the abiding paradigm.
Spot the red flag when subsets of women and groups of people are portrayed as dangerous, unqualified, over-emotional or hysterical and irrational because they are challenging authority.
Fear, Othering and Dehumanisation
Back in the day it was easy. You accused Auntie Doris of consorting with the Devil. You tortured her til she confessed and stripped her naked to find the Devil’s mark. These days it’s a little more complex but we can begin to suspect a witch hunt is in progress when we spot language like “woo”, “unsafe birth worker”, “conspiracy theorist”, “cult-like”, “fringe”, “ideology”or “natural birth at all costs”. Obviously this doesn’t mean that there aren’t dangerous practitioners, cults and conspiracy theorists out there, just that these accusations are being commonly used as weapons against perfectly safe, ethical and rational people.
Red flag: language that de-legitimises, ridicules and undermines a woman or group in order to incite fear or moral panic.
How They Justify Themselves
Of course witch hunters have always cast themselves as the hero, the arbiter of all that is true and good. When the Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins, was traveling around East Anglia in the 1640s, he claimed his role was to save the souls of the population and protect the villages he visited from the foul influence of the Devil’s handmaidens.
These days we may notice phrases like ‘We must protect mothers and babies from misinformation’, ‘All that matters is an alive baby’, ‘Doulas are coercing mothers into freebirth’, ‘Safety is our top priority’, ‘Mothers are increasingly older and more obese and so are putting their babies at risk’.
It’s a red flag when ‘safety’ is invoked (ironically like a charm or spell) to justify silencing or erasing female experiential knowledge. Rather than engaging with parents and their advocates in an open-minded and curious manner, the witch hunter pulls rank and paints themselves as the all-knowing.
Pursuing the Hunt and Finding the ‘Proof’
Just as there was no real evidence of witchcraft back in the day, other than forced confessions and hearsay, today’s witch hunts build their foundations on little but whispers and spin doctoring. The tactics are easy to spot when you know what you’re looking for – the victim will endure a lot of accusations that seek to inflict reputational damage, perhaps with complaints to their governing body, institution or professional group. There may be a ‘trial’ by social media or in the press, rarely giving the victim a right of reply or, if they do speak up in self defense, their words are often twisted to ‘prove’ their guilt. Victims may also be proven guilty by association, perhaps because of links with others that are also under investigation or suspicion or they may be tortured and punished by ‘institutional abandonment’ – colleagues, clients, professional bodies or employers publicly distancing themselves because of the ‘optics’.
The red flag? Watch out for people or organisations being shamed or excluded without transparent investigation or right to reply, based on hearsay, gossip, old news, bandwagon jumping, performative virtue signalling and statements that do not list any conflict of interest or include any balanced attempt at showing both sides of the argument.
The Play for Power: Who Controls The Knowledge?
At the end of the day, witch hunts are ultimately about who gets to write the story and define the truth. We are very used to history being written by the winners. It is called History for a reason, because her story has traditionally remained untold except in relation to the central hero. In order to wrestle control of the narrative, male clergy, scholars, Kings and politicians have rebranded women’s traditional wisdom as superstition, evil incarnate, dirty and ignorant. This tactic continues, largely unaltered, as institutional, male-dominated, ‘scientific’ voices are deemed more valid and rational. In this way they gate-keep legitimacy and dismiss our experiential, community and embodied knowledge.
Red Flag: when they call us ignorant or non-evidence based.
The Loss of Herstory
Once the witch was hanged, burned or banished, she was erased; the record rewritten. Today she/they are remembered not as loving mothers making legitimate choices as per their human right, healers or community advocates but are rebranded as fools, fanatics or frauds.
So watch out for the red flags that sanitise the legacies of dissenting women, pathologise or demonise people’s views and achievements or quietly seek to bury or forget certain people or groups.
I’d like to make something very clear. A well organised, transparent, ethical campaign built on moral foundations, predicated on good communication and robust evidence of wrong doing is not a witch hunt. So let’s revisit the playbook that we’ve explored so far. It’s a witch hunt when:
- People or groups are being silenced. Think about why.
- Is the language of safety being used to mask the need for power and control?
- Are fear-based narratives being used to create moral panic?
- Is this a trial by gossip or online outrage?
And if you decide it’s a witch hunt, what can you do? Well, perhaps you could consider reclaiming solidarity and community – historically, isolation made women vulnerable. You may decide to call it out for what it is and point out the witch hunt playbook that creates a culture of fear, paints those without systemic power as a threat, discredits knowledge and experience, claims moral superiority, isolates and punishes and finally, rewrites the story to protect the status quo.
Because if we can see a witch hunt for what it truly is, we can begin to refuse to play the game their way. Let’s commit to spotting the red flags and crucially vow to never use the witch hunt playbook ourselves.
