Dispel the Virgin Myth in South Africa!!

High Commission of South Africa
South Africa House
Trafalgar Square
London WC2N 5DP
United Kingdom

Dear Sir or Madam,

As postgraduate students of International Criminal Law in the United Kingdom, we feel closely obliged to the promotion and protection of human rights. As such, we are in pursuit of a goal to trigger a positive change against inhumane treatment wherever it exists.

One of our projects concerns the so-called "virgin myth", the belief that an individual infected with the HIV/AIDS virus could be cured by having intercourse with a virgin. We have become aware that this myth is acutely prevalent in your country and we urge your governments action to dispel it.

Our research has yielded that the aforementioned myth is somewhat being addressed in your country, but that the mechanisms thus far have had a limited impact. We strongly support the tough sentencing guidelines introduced in 1997 by the South African Government in a bid to halt, and effectively deter sexual violence against women and children. These guidelines provide for a life sentence to be imposed on all perpetrators convicted of raping a girl under the age of 16. However, a significant factor impacting on the incidence of the rape of young girls in South Africa is the disturbing reality that many men do not recognise the age of 16 as being the age of legal consent, or that their actions in engaging in sexual intercourse with a minor, be it consensual or not, are unlawful, and, in effect, constitute a serious crime. Further, the imposition of severe punishment upon rapists of female children in particular has not been very effective. The nexus between more severe punishment and the dangerous inaccuracy of the virgin myth has not been communicated to your population. Further, increasing prison sentences will fill prisons but will not necessarily protect innocent children.

We have organized this petition to give everyone around the globe who wants this practice to stop, an opportunity to demand of your Government an aggressive public awareness campaign throughout your country so as to educate everyone that sexual intercourse with virgins will only spread HIV/AIDS, not cure it, and that engaging in such a practice is a serious criminal offence. The campaign should especially target HIV/AIDS-infected males.

We also implore your government to take the following action:
(1) Provide law enforcement authorities in South Africa with appropriate training on womens rights, child rights and HIV/AIDS issues;
(2) Provide health care providers with training on HIV/AIDS so that victims are not stigmatized and assumed to have been promiscuous;
(3) Provide judges, lawyers and other judicial officers with training on HIV/AIDS and establish facilities for youth; and
(4) Ensure that young females and women are educated about their rights.

We welcome the efforts already made by South Africa, among them the tougher penalties mentioned above, along with public awareness campaigns in public schools throughout the country and we encourage that the competent authorities sustain these efforts.

Moreover, the physical and psychological situation of the infected persons has to be addressed. We implore the South African government to do whatever it can to provide at least basic medical treatment to those who are living with HIV/AIDS to help suppress the symptoms of the disease and thereby improve their mental condition. It is namely held in this context that the untreated infection seriously impairs the psyche and makes one so desperate for curing that even criminal, unsuitable, and absurd means are pursued.

We implore your action on this matter!