Aids

[pussing]

Is it true that people in South Africa who have Aids believe if they have sex with someone who doesn't have Aids cures them of the disease? I heard young girls as young as 7 and 8 are being raped due to this belief.

[andy hughes]

In common with just about any international phenomenon, there is a lot of spurious nonsense talked about the causes, effects and 'cures' involving Aids. The urban myths that grow around such concepts are by no means limited to South Africa, you can find them where ever ignorance and fear generate such nonsensical ideas - which is just about anywhere on the planet!

[mikewith]

There's been a great deal of controversy over the government position on Aids and HIV in South Africa. The President has implied that there may not be (or definitely isn't?) a link between the two; there have been problems with Aids drugs, condoms etc etc. Such confusion, coupled with poor medical education and a lack of clear aand accurate publicity, make it highly likely that rumour and false hopes are widespread. It might be more accurate for the question to ask "Is it true that THERE ARE SOME people in South Africa AND ELSEWHERE..." aanf the aanswer is probably, sadly, yes.

[Spellmaster]

There are still people in the UK who believe VD can be caught from toilet seats...ignorance can exist everywhere.

[kirstykitten]

I recently read - on a fave news site - that a South African man had been jailed for raping and sodomising his girlfriend's 10 (!) month old baby. The belief is that virgins can cure AIDS - not just those who aren't infected.