Woman breastfeeds friend’s son and infects him with HIV

A woman was recently dragged to court after deliberately infecting her friend’s baby with HIV. The woman is reported to have infected the 10 month old baby after breastfeeding him in the absence of his mother. The mother of the child has left her son in the care of her friend in order to run some errands.

The HIV positive woman decided to breastfeed the baby after he started crying. She did so in full view of other young kids who were playing within the vicinity. They alerted the boy’s mother leading to her arrest. She was initially charged with ill – treatment of a minor under the Children’s act but the charge was later changed to deliberate transmission of HIV. It is a criminal offence in Zimbabwe to deliberately infect someone with HIV. The woman in question was well aware of her HIV status. She is currently out on bail. Trial will commence on 19 October.

Women who are HIV positive are generally discouraged from breastfeeding unless they are taking certain medication. This incident has served as an eye opener to many people on the dangers of leaving young and vulnerable kids in the care of other people. Social media has been flooded with angry comments. Deliberately infecting someone with HIV is a criminal offence.

Had it not been for the young kids that witnesses the whole scenario, the mother of the child might have never known that her baby had been infected. Most people are anxiously waiting to see the outcome of the court case. The story has caused outrage on social media and people have been making reference to a young boy from Murewa who was recently murdered for ritual purposes. It only shows the misfortunes that befall young kids at the hands of adults who are supposed to be their guardians