Myth of the virgin cure

One of the world's more loathsome irrational beliefs is the one current in South Africa, holding that the cure for AIDS is to have sex with a virgin. And of its many loathsome effects, perhaps the worst is that it's unleashed a child rape epidemic.

You want to put a world leader on trial, how about Thabo Mbeki? He's not directly responsible for this, but his insane views on AIDS have to be a contributing factor.

Smith stressed that rapists who acted on the myth, were "not necessarily monsters". The reason for the prevalence of virgin rapes was a lack of treatment for the disease, she said. The rapists were desperate people, looking for ways of treating themselves.

No. They are monsters, and each and every one of them should be tried for rape and attempted murder. And if the law allows, hung by the neck until dead.