London’s Mirror Profiles HIV ‘Virgin Myth’ and Infant Rapes, AIDS Orphans
London's Mirror yesterday profiled unwanted AIDS orphans in South Africa, saying, "So strong is the stigma attached to having a baby who is HIV-positive, so problematic are the realities of bringing up a child when perhaps both parents are also dying of AIDS that many are simply leaving their children to die." The Mirror reports that an average of 50 infants are abandoned each month in Cape Town alone (Johnston, Mirror, 2/9). In addition, the Mirror on Saturday profiled 19-month-old Thandiwe, who was raped a little more than a year ago and is believed to a "victi[m] of the 'virgin myth,' a bizarre belief that a man with AIDS can be 'cured' if he has sex with a virgin." Both articles, which are available online, were published in advance of the World Cricket Cup, which began yesterday in South Africa (Johnston, Mirror, 2/10).
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