South Africa: Innocent young girls are being kidnapped and forced to marry older HIV-positive men because of the myth that having sex with a virgin will cure them of the disease

An investigation into South Africa's rural Eastern Cape has revealed how children as young as 12, from the Xhosa people, are being pressured into premature nuptials. The tradition of Ukuthwala, translated as to pick up or to take, was used as an excuse to justify the abductions. In many cases, the kidnappings were consented to by the youngster's parents in exchange for cash. The men, who were often widowed by HIV, simply end up infecting their new brides too.