I get paid for having sex with children - Malawian man

A Malawian man, Eric Aniva, who is referred to as ‘hyena’ in his village, is known for having sex with young girls and getting paid for it.

From left to right: Aniva, Fanny with their youngest child, Fanny's sister and a former client[BBCNEWS]

According to Ed Butler of BBC , ‘hyena’ is 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. If a woman has an abortion, again sexual cleansing is required. And most shockingly, teenage girls, after their first menstruation, are made to have sex over a three-day period, to mark their passage from childhood to womanhood.

Picture: [BBCNEWS]

If the girls refuse, the tradition is said to be that disease or some fatal misfortune could befall their families or the village as a whole. Aniva said: “Most of those I have slept with are girls, school-going girls. Some girls are just 12 or 13 years old, but I prefer them older. 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.”

However, despite his boasts, several girls in the village do not think Aniva is worth the while. “There was nothing else I could have done. I had to do it for the sake of my parents. If I’d refused, my family members could be attacked with diseases – even death – so I was scared,” one girl, Maria, told BBC correspondent.

Aniva with a root which he grinds up and adds to water to drink before sex - Picture:[BBCNEWS]

Aniva appears to be in his 40s and currently has two wives who are well aware of his work. He claims to have slept with 104 women and girls – although as he said the same to a local newspaper in 2012, which means he has lost count of how many women he has slept with. Aniva has five children that he knows about – he’s not sure how many of the women and girls he’s made pregnant. He is paid from $4 to $7 each time he does his work.

According to custom, sex with the hyena must never be protected with the use of condoms. But they say a hyena is hand-picked for his good morals, and therefore cannot be infected with HIV/Aids.