HIV-Infected 'Hyena' Convicted over Unprotected Sex with 104 Women & Girls in Malawi

    © CCTV Africa / YouTube

A HIV-positive sex worker who admitted to having unprotected sex with scores of women and girls as part of a “cleansing ritual has been convicted by a Malawi court of engaging in harmful cultural practises.

Eric Aniva, 45, was convicted Friday under section five of Malawi’s Gender Equality Act for breaking the law against “harmful practices," reports The Daily Times of Malawi, which stem from his role in ritualistic “sexual cleansing."

As a "hyena," 45-year-old Aniva was paid $4, often by young girls’ parents, to have sex with them as soon as they entered puberty for “sexual cleansing." He was also hired to have sex with newly bereaved widows to "exorcise" the spirits of their deceased husbands.

Young girls often don’t have a say as to whether they want to partake in the "cleansing." Some of the girls Aniva had unprotected sex with were as young as 12.

Widows reportedly sought Aniva’s services because “if she doesn’t any future deaths in the village can be blamed on her,”reports the Washington Post.

“Most of those I have slept with are girls, school-going girls,” said Aniva to the BBC in a televised interview that eventually led to his arrest. “Some girls are just 12 or 13 years old, but I prefer them older."

“All these girls find pleasure in having me as their hyena. They actually are proud and tell other people that this man is a real man, he knows how to please a woman,” he added.

According to custom, sex with the "hyena" should not be protected sex, as these men are believed to have “good morals” and so cannot be infected with the disease. When Aniva learned of his diagnosis, he failed to inform the community and continued to knowingly have unprotected sex.

The BBC documentary featuring Aniva aired in July and sparked international uproar that led to Malawi president Peter Mutharika condemning the ancient practice and ordering Aniva’s arrest.

“While we must promote positive cultural values and positive socialization of our children, the president says harmful cultural and traditional practices cannot be accepted in this country,” said the president’s spokesman, Mgeme Kalilani, in a statement.

“All people involved in this malpractice should be held accountable for subjecting their children and women to this despicable evil. These horrific practices although done by a few also tarnish the image of the whole nation of Malawi internationally and bring shame to us all.”

The legal age for consent in Malawi was raised from 13 to 16 in 2011, reports the Guardian, and Aniva was initially arrested for sexually assault underage girls. However when nobody came forward to testify against him, the charges were changed to having sex with bereaved widows, which was outlawed under the Malawi Gender Equality Act of 2013.

Aniva was convicted after the one-day trial and faces a maximum prison sentence of five years. His sentence will be handed down on November 22.

HIV-Positive Man Hired to Have Sex with Children in ‘Cleansing’ Ritual Arrested in Malawi

It's time for this African country to emerge

from the dark ages

Police have arrested and charged for defilement a Malawian man who claims to have HIV and says he is hired by families to have sex with young women, some of them children, for ritual ‘sexual cleansing’.

The accused, Eric Aniva, said in a number of interviews he is a sex worker - labeled locally a ‘hyena’ - and parents employ him to have sex with young girls when they reach puberty. He also confessed having HIV.

Aniva’s revelations led to the Malawian president ordering his arrest.

In southern regions of Malawi it is traditional for girls to be forced to have sex with a man after their first menstruation, as part of an act of initiation into adulthood - called ‘kusasa fumbi’. The girls can be as young as 12 years old.

The majority of the girls Aniva was with are underage, Malawi police inspector General Lexten Kachama said, as quoted by AP.

President Peter Mutharika said in his official statement that Aniva’s “evil acts” should be probed and the offender should “further be charged accordingly.”

Mutharika added that no such criminal act under the guise of culture could be accepted, and urged security forces to look into all men and parents related to “this shocking malpractice.”

Malawian human rights lawyer Chrispine Sibande said putting one man in prison is far from enough, as “the practice is very rampant in some of parts of the country.”

A Human Rights Watch report two years ago revealed that between 2010 and 2013, some 44,000 Malawian girls dropped out of school due to pregnancy. 

The watchdog urged “to end widespread child marriage” in Malawi. Half of all girls are married before their 18th birthday, the report added. Some are forced to marry as early as aged nine or 10.

Report Says Ontario a 'Major Hub' for Child Trafficking, Sexual Violence

25% of sexually trafficked girls in Ontario are under the age of 12

Ontario urged to fund anti-human trafficking task force, fight sexual violence

By Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press 

Tracy MacCharles, Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services

A new report says Ontario has become a "major hub" for human trafficking and sexual violence in Canada, with most of the victims being local underage girls and young women.

The report by a provincial legislative committee is calling on the Liberal government to increase funding for the justice system and create a co-ordinated, province-wide strategy.

"These young women, girls really, underaged girls and children, are being forced into sex work in our cities and towns, and they really are the girls next door," said Laurie Scott, Progressive Conservative MPP of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

The government should provide the same sort of dedicated funding for an anti-trafficking task force as it did for Toronto's "Guns and Gangs" initiative, Scott said.

The committee, which issued its report on the final day of the fall session Thursday, said human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is the most common form of trafficking in Canada, and Ontario is acting as a "major" hub.

"We need to send resources to law enforcement and to the justice system so there is a concentrated team that works throughout the province, because these girls are trafficked widely throughout the province on a daily basis," said Scott.

The committee travelled across Ontario hearing stories from 147 women who were victims of rape or sexual harassment.

'Difficult to control our emotions'

Committee members, including two former nurses and another who worked in a rape crisis centre, said despite their experience, they were often in shock listening to women tell "gut wrenching" stories of sexual assaults.

I don't think any of us were prepared for what we heard.

- NDP MPP Peggy Sattler

"I don't think any of us were prepared for what we heard," said Peggy Sattler, London West NDP MPP.

"It was very difficult to control our own emotions as we watched survivors struggling to hold back tears as they relived the pain and trauma of what they went through."

Tracy MacCharles, the minister of children and youth services who is responsible for a sexual violence and harassment bill that is now before the legislature, said the committee's recommendations, including the call for a task force, will help strengthen her bill.

"I'm open to all good ideas on this," said MacCharles. "I'll be sitting down with the premier on this."

Government's decision

Liberal Daiene Vernile, the MPP for Kitchener Centre who chaired the committee, said it's up to the government to decide how to proceed, but she wants to make sure the recommendations are implemented.

"For many witnesses, it was very difficult for them to appear before this committee, and reliving the trauma of being violated," she said. "But they did so hoping that there would be some kind of positive outcome, and we don't want to let them down."

You girls are my heroes today. So proud of you. God bless you!

The committee found almost 60 per cent of sexual assault victims in Canada are under the age of 18, and a quarter of them are under the age of 12.

Most victims — 92 per cent — are women, and the overwhelming majority of attackers — 99 per cent — were men.

It also found Ontario lacks up-to-date statistics about the incidence of sexual harassment and childhood sexual abuses, and doesn't have a standardized system to track cases of human trafficking.

Is there any place in North America that does keep up-to-date statistics of child sex crimes?

This report is a great start if it generates a lot more interest and funding for this woefully ignored problem.