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Assignment: 'Stealing Innocence' in Malawi

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Stealing Innocence in Malawi

21/07/2016 GMT

'Stealing Innocence' in Malawi

BBC World Service - Assignment, 'Stealing Innocence' in Malawi

The men in Malawi who are hired to have sex with young girls

Ed Butler travels to Malawi to explore the secretive and shocking world of the men tasked with sexually initiating adolescent and pre-adolescent girls.

Ed Butler explores the secretive and shocking world of Malawi’s 'hyenas'. These are the men hired to sexually initiate adolescent and pre-adolescent girls – some said to be 12 years old, or even younger. It is a traditional custom that is endorsed and funded by the communities themselves, even the children’s families. Ed meets some of the victims, the regional chief campaigning to stop the practice, and the hyenas themselves, and ask if enough is being done to stamp out a custom that is not just damaging on a human scale, but is also undermining the country’s economic development. 

(Photo: Three young girls in Malawi are interviewed by the BBC's Ed Butler)

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