from sexual abuse . And she 's witnessed some of the worst cases of the myth in action . `` The youngest girl I ever came across was a day-old baby who was raped , '' said Makoni , 37 . Through her Girl Child Network -LRB- GCN -RRB- , Makoni has helped rescue 35,000 girls from abuse -- including Hope ; thousands more have found an empowering community and a public forum in which to speak out . `` Ten girls per day report rape cases , '' she said . `` It means if we keep quiet , at least 3,600 girls per year may just be contracting HIV and AIDS . '' Makoni 's own tragic experiences fuel her fierce determination . `` I was raped when I was 6 years old , '' she recalled . Her attacker was a local shopkeeper . Makoni said her mother would not allow her to report the abuse . `` She said , ` Shh , we do n't say that in public , ' '' Makoni remembered . `` I had no shoulder to cry on . '' Three years later , she witnessed her father murder her
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Hope was 14 years old when her uncle raped her . Betty Makoni founded the Girl Child Network to help Zimbabwe 's young sexual abuse victims . `` He trapped me to the ground and covered my mouth with his hand , '' said the 18-year-old from Zimbabwe . `` He threatened to kill me if I ever told anybody . '' So , she kept quiet . `` After a while people around the villages started saying that I looked pregnant , '' she said . Hope was not only pregnant , but her uncle had infected her with HIV . Like many young girls in Zimbabwe , Hope was the victim of a widely held belief that if a man with HIV or AIDS rapes a virgin he will be cured of his disease . This so-called virgin myth , perpetuated by Zimbabwe 's traditional healers , has led to the rape of hundreds of girls , according to UNICEF . Some of those victims are too young to walk , much less protect themselves . Betty Makoni has fought for nearly a decade to protect her country 's young girls