This HIV-Positive Man Had Unprotected Sex With 100 Underage Girls

A HIV-positive man named Eric Aniva admitted he was paid to have sex with over 100 girls.

Aniva, who lives in southern Malawi and is in his 40s, told the BBC in an interview that most of the girls he had unprotected sex with were school-going age, around 12 or 13 years old, but that he preferred for them to be older.

He was known as a "hyena" or someone who has sex with virgins to "cleanse" them after their first periods and has been doing this since as early as 1985. He was paid between £3 to £5 for each sex ritual.

He told the BBC,

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.

According to him, the girls would even compliment him the morning after he had sex with them and treat him well. They would be so relaxed, he says, that they would heat water for him so he could wash up.

He admits he knows the ritual spreads HIV/AIDS, but he also acknowledges his custom demands that sexual intercourse be practiced without protection.

After the interview, President Peter Mutharika ordered Aniva be arrested for his actions, saying Aniva should "be investigated for exposing the young girls to contracting HIV and further be charged accordingly."

He was arrested on Tuesday and charged with defilement, Malawi Police Inspector General Lexten Kachama told the Associated Press.

Malawian human rights lawyer Chrispine Sibande points out that practice is "very rampant" in the country, and despite President Mutharika's intentions, HIV is still a huge concern.

Here are just some facts about HIV in Malawi:

There were a shocking one million people living with HIV in Malawi in 2013. That same year, 48,000 people died from HIV-related illnesses. And in 2014, approximately 40,000 kids were born to mothers with HIV/AIDS.

Unfortunately, it seems like Aniva isn't the only one still practicing "ritual."

Check out the video below to hear Aniva's explanation of his practices:

Citations: Man with HIV paid £3-a-time to have sex with at least 100 girls is arrested (Metro), Malawi police arrest HIV-positive man paid by parents to have sex with scores of young girls (Washington Post)