For the 16th and 17th centuries of early modern European history, many societies were consumed by a trepidation over alleged theories of witchcraft and sorcery in their communities. “Witch-hunts”, especially in Central Europe, resulted in the trial, torture, and execution of tens of thousands of victims, a large proportion of whom were women . In England alone, more than 90 percent of those convicted of witchcraft were women, and the few men who were accused were generally married to a woman who had already been deemed guilty of the offence . Although there are numerous ideas behind the explanation of this witch-craze, there are few which explain why it was almost exclusively women who were targeted. It is possible to say that neither before nor since these centuries have adult European women been the main focus for such a large scale barbarity. While it is fair to say that there was a certain amount of fear, suspicion and a genuine belief of witchcraft and magic among the people of the 16th and…show more content… The general context of the witch-craze is the most important of factors in assisting the label of gendercide, as the craze took place during a period of widespread belief that women were inferior, and also where the societal structure reflected this belief as women were kept out of all important areas of power. At the most basic level, the witch-craze was an act of violence against women within a context of a male-dominated society . It is highly unlikely that without the historical context of the witch-craze that such a large-scale purposeful attack on women would have taken place, which is what constitutes perfectly the label of gendercide to be applied to the case of the witch-hunt of the 16th and 17th centuries in