In some remote southern regions of Malawi, it's traditional for girls to be made to have sex with a paid sex worker known as a "hyena" once they reach puberty. The act is not seen by village elders as rape, but as a form of ritual "cleansing". However, as Ed Butler reports, it has the potential to be the opposite of cleansing - a way of spreading disease. I meet Eric Aniva in the dusty yard of his three-room shack in Nsanje district in southern Malawi. Goats and chickens graze in the dirt outside. Wearing a grimy green shirt, and walking with a pronounced limp he's been lame in one leg since birth, he says , he greets me enthusiastically. He seems to like the idea of media attention. Aniva is by all accounts the pre-eminent "hyena" in this village. It's a traditional title given to a man hired by communities in several remote parts of southern Malawi to provide what's called sexual "cleansing". If a man dies, for example, his wife is required by tradition to sleep with Aniva before she can bury him.
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Sexual feelings, attractions, fantasies and desires affect virtually all people from at least puberty onwards. The average age of puberty for girls in the UK is 12 to 13, 13 to 14 for boys. In common with other aspects of development, the age at which puberty occurs varies widely from person to person. It is normal for the onset of puberty in different individuals to start as young as 8 or to be delayed until 16 or
When to Worry About Your Kid Having Sex
It's important to think about how and why teenagers become sexually active—not just whether and when they do. The media ensures that children and adolescents are exposed to sex earlier than ever; girls are going through puberty earlier; and, as always, many teenagers are having sex. As parents, we all have our opinions about when and with whom our children should be sexually active. So when is that age? And when should you worry? It should come as no surprise that there is little consensus among cultures about young people and sex. First off, children are not sexual beings. If the behaviors occur more than occasionally, on the other hand, or include overt attempts to mimic or perform sex acts, it might be something to worry about.
Try out PMC Labs and tell us what you think. Learn More. The UK has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in western Europe. Although there is a large body of literature focusing on predictors of conception among this age group, almost all the work compares those young women who have become pregnant with their peers, regardless of whether or not their peers have experienced sexual intercourse. Those who engage in sexual intercourse at a relatively young age will often have had more opportunity to become pregnant than those whose sexual debut comes later. Similarly, the fact that those who use contraception at first intercourse have been less likely to conceive than those who do not could reflect the overall patterns of contraceptive use: young women who have used contraception at each occasion of intercourse will have had less chance to conceive than those who have not. Having a young partner at first intercourse suggests that, if this pattern continues, the couple may lack the resources needed to prevent a pregnancy due to the immaturity of both partners. Attempts to reduce conception rates among this age group need to be grounded firmly in an understanding of this social phenomenon. A large and growing body of literature focuses on the predictors of teenage pregnancy, comparing young women who have become pregnant with their peers.