Virgo purification myth

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The virgins cleaning myth  (aka virgins cure myth virgins rape myth or mermaid myth (Engl. Virgin rape myth / virgin cleansing myth)) is the mistaken belief that it is through sex with a virgin of HIV / AIDS sexually transmitted or other Can cure diseases.

Anthropologist Suzanna Leclerc-Madlala stated that this myth is a factor contributing to child rape in South Africa . Not only young girls, but also “blind, deaf, disabled and mentally ill” girls are raped because they are assumed to be virgins.

history

The myth first emerged in Europe in the 16th century. In the 19th century it spread widely in Victorian England. It was believed that syphilis and gonorrhea can be cured through it, among other things. The exact origin cannot be clearly established. The historian Hanne Blank wrote that the myth probably came from Christian legends of virgin martyrs. Their purity served to protect themselves from demons. 

Occurrence

A survey by the University of South Africa in South Africa found that 18 percent of workers believed that having sex with a virgin could cure HIV / AIDS. An older 1999 study in Gauteng found that 32 percent of those surveyed believed the myth there.

According to Betty Makoni of the Girl Child Network in Zimbabwe, the myth of miracle healers is being spread. They advise HIV-positive men to heal themselves through sex with virgins. In Zimbabwe, some people believe that the virgin's blood, which emerges from the rape, cleanses the infected person's blood from the virus.

In 2002 the psychologist Earl-Taylor wrote that the virgin rape myth explains the surge in child rape in South Africa. Because in this country there is also an HIV / AIDS epidemic. According to UNICEF, the myth is indirectly responsible for the rape of hundreds of girls.

However, it is not known exactly how widespread the myth is and how many rapes are committed because of it. Claims that the myth would increase the rate of HIV infection or abuse more children is contested by scientists Rachel Jewkes and Helen Epstein, as well as research on sex offenders in Malawi that found no link between the crime and the myth .

Importance of education

Ignorance about how HIV is transmitted is a major hurdle to attempting to contain the epidemic in many African countries.

Education can help contain the spread of the disease. It also helps to let the myth fall into oblivion. Women like Betty Makoni so publicly advocate more education in the field so that fewer people believe in the myth.

According to UNICEF, traditional gender roles reinforce the myth. This happens because girls are considered innocent on the one hand and are not encouraged to continue their education or to look for information on the topic. On the other hand, promiscuous behavior is accepted or encouraged by men. Other cultural influences, such as girls often being pressured into marrying older men, also increase the risk of HIV transmission. The stigma surrounding AIDS makes it difficult for many people to seek help from counseling organizations. As a result, many people do not know if they are being infected and, in the worst case, can spread the disease.

In the media

The myth is taken up in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon . The supporting character of Mattumbo is prevented from rape a baby in order to cure himself of AIDS. In the song  Making Things Up Again , Elder Cunngingham repeatedly tells Mattumbo that it is against God's will to rape babies. He also invents a new passage in the Book of Mormon in which God tells Joseph Smith to have sex with a frog instead in order to cure himself of AIDS.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Groce, Nora E.: Rape of individuals with disability: AIDS and the folk belief of virgin cleansing . In: The Lancet . 363, No. 9422, 2004, pp. 1663-1664. doi : 10.1016 / S0140-6736 (04) 16288-0 . PMID 15158626 . Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  2. ↑ Leclerc-Madlala, Suzanne: On The Virgin Cleansing Myth: Gendered Bodies, AIDS and Ethnomedicine . In: African Journal of AIDS Research . 1, No. 2, 2002, pp. 87-95. doi : 10.2989 / 16085906.2002.9626548 . PMID 25871812 . Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  3. ↑ IRIN: SOUTH AFRICA: Focus on the virgin myth and HIV / AIDS , IRIN. Retrieved December 30, 2011. 
  4. ↑ a b Vickers, Steve: Staging sex myths to save Zimbabwe's girls , BBC. October 24, 2006. Accessed December 31, 2011. 
  5. ↑ CNN: Child rape survivor saves 'virgin myth' victims , CNN. October 1st, 2009. Archived from the original on January 27th, 2012 Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 31, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / articles.cnn.com 
  6. ↑ Helen Epstein, Rachel Jewkes: The myth of the virgin rape myth . In: The Lancet . 374, No. 9699, October 24, 2009. doi : 10.1016 / S0140-6736 (09) 61858-4 . Retrieved September 21, 2013. "In the current South African case, this claim is predicated on racist assumptions about the amorality of African men ..."
  7. ↑ Mtibo C, Kennedy N, Umar E: Explanations for child sexual abuse given by convicted offenders in Malawi: no evidence for “HIV cleansing” . In: Child Abuse Negl . 35, No. 2, 2011, pp. 142–6. doi : 10.1016 / j.chiabu.2010.10.001 . PMID 21353703 .
  8. ↑ Connor, Steve: Focus AIDS: The myth that sex with a virgin can cure HIV , The Independent. September 5, 1999. Accessed December 31, 2011. 
  9. ^ Mullins, KJ: 'Virgin Myth' Behind Zimbabwe Child Rapes , Digital Journal. Retrieved December 31, 2011. 
  10. ↑ Stein, Sadie: Silver Linings: One Woman Takes On The 'Virgin Myth.' Many Others Perpetuate It , Jezebel. Retrieved December 31, 2011. 
  11. ^ UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia: Faith-Motivated Actions on HIV / AIDS Prevention and Care for Children and Young People in South Asia: A Regional Overview . UNICEF. 2003. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved on December 31, 2011.