The "Virgin Myth"

A “myth” is defined as an invented story, idea or concept. The “virgin myth” is an invented story that can be traced back to the 16th century and 19th century Victorian England. In Victorian England the myth was that having sex with a virgin would cure a person of multiple sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis. The same myth has reached the continent of Africa and is being spread by traditional healers. African HIV or AIDS carriers visit the huts of traditional healers, or people who practice old medicine, and seek a cure to an incurable disease. They are told that the vaginal blood of a virgin will wash their own blood of the incurable virus, and will prevent them from ever contracting it again.





The result of this fallacy is an increased rate of child rape cases in Africa. In one year alone between March 2004 and March 2005 there were over 22,000 child rape cases reported. The stories behind these statistics are horrifying. Six men were tried for the rape of nine-month-old baby girl. A mother allowed an HIV infected man to rape her four-year-old daughter in exchange for cash. The youngest female victim reported to have been raped as a result of the “virgin myth” was a day old baby.

Many dispute the “virgin myth” as being the cause for the increase of child rape cases in Africa. Dr. Jewkes of the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at the University of Cape Town is among those in this group. It is in her opinion that the root cause of child rape is poverty and high levels of violence as a result of political unrest. She states that there have been only a few child rape cases where the perpetrator believed the myth and that the media has exacerbated the problem by specifically searching for cases related to the “virgin myth” and giving their reporting priority.

Regardless of the debate concerning the actual versus perceived severity of the “virgin myth”, there are young girls who have become victims as its result. Between 1998 and 2006 at least 2,000 children have died of AIDS who were infected during a sexual assault. This statistic only depicts those who have died and does not represent those who have become infected during a sexual assault driven by the “virgin myth”.

One woman, Betty Makoni, is helping to combat this issue. She has created an organization called the Girl Child Network (GCN) that offers young female rape victims a safe-haven from the environment in which they became a victim, and allows them to openly discuss their experience(s). They receive medical treatment and education. Makoni’s efforts also include enlightening and educating traditional healers of the erroneous “virgin myth” and the detrimental affects it has on young girls. Her students put on plays that help teach these valuable lessons and also give personal accounts of their own horrific experiences. Betty Makoni is seeking to eradicate the problem at its source. It is unclear whether or not her efforts have produced any fruits but one thing is for sure; there is much more recognition of this problem today than there ever was before.

Below I have attached a video that is very informative regarding the virgin myth and the impact it has had on the youth of South Africa. I would suggest watching it if you have the time.