Marg you must be going through Hell.
I am so sorry to hear you are going through this, and they will get their karma, oh yes they will indeed.
People just follow the 'monkey see monkey do' approach because they feel safer in numbers, even the nice and reasonable ones we meet in our lives.
Is there a group of people in the village who you could approach for help, for example a priest if you are religious, or someone of a similar status religious or not to seek some objective advice on the situation?
Good luck and i'm totally on your side