The women in Papua New Guinea just can’t catch a break.

Last month, we told you how women in this South Pacific island nation were killing their newborn baby boys to stem a tribal war.

Well, now we hear that an increasing number of women (and men) are being tortured — then killed — after being accused of sorcery and witchcraft. It may sound like something from the Salem witch trials, but CNN says one woman was bound and gagged, tied to a log and set ablaze on a pile of tires this week. A pregnant woman last year gave birth to a baby girl while trying to free herself from a tree to which the villagers tied her.

In Papua New Guinea, people are often blamed for spreading HIV or AIDS. Witchcraft is often blamed for unexplained deaths, and it’s often tribesman who get together to plot the "punishment" for those they think are responsible. It’s an interesting way to run things, to say the least. 

The country’s Post-Courier newspaper reported Thursday that the government is creating a new law to combat sorcery-related murders.

"A lot of people are being killed on allegations of sorcery," said Joe Mek Teine, chairman of the Constitutional Review and Law Reform Commission. "It is a problem that has been existing in the country before the arrival of Western influence and it’s deeply rooted."

Here we thought the world’s come a long way since the 1600s. Here’s hoping they can get this horrible trend under control.