A week-old baby girl has been raped in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, police said today.
She is the youngest victim in a spate of child rapes fuelled by the myth that sex with a virgin cures AIDS. Some 21,000 cases of child rape were reported to South African police last year.
"A week-old child has been raped by an unknown person. She is seriously injured but her condition is stable," a police spokesman said.
Last Friday, a South African man was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a nine-month-old baby in an attack that outraged a country known for high levels of violent crime.
Passing sentence on David Potse (23), Judge Hennie Lacock said the rape of the baby - identified only by the nickname "Tshepang", meaning "Have Hope" - was the most gruesome example of a human rights violation that he seen.
Tshepang survived October's attack but had to have extensive reconstructive surgery.
Judge Lacock said he would have imposed the death penalty without hesitation had South Africa not abolished capital punishment.