The Young Female Body as a Site of Demonic Sexual Abuse: The Case of Christians in Charismatic Pentecostal Churches in Durban South Africa

The realm of religion and sexualitlj is one which is almost fuelled with conservative and traditional values; but at the same time, presents researchers with a feminist inclination the opportunitlJ to deliver critical insights into how these sacred demarcated space/activities are now part and parcel of the public domain. Within the Pentecostal charismatic circles, sexual relations between demons and humans are an essential part of their belief and practise. Through the Pentecostal charismatic churches, the female body is portrayed as a site of demonic sexual advancement and violations and one trapped in secrec1; and shame. In Anthropology, such practices have insufficiently been labelled 'the malcontents of modernity'. Ten young girls were interviewed for the study drawn from three churches in Durban. Through the perspective of critical medical anthropology theory, it is understood that the female body is the "terrain where social truths are forged and social contradictions played out, as well as the locus of personal resistance, activity and struggle" (Scheper-Hughes and Lock, 1987:16). Auto etlmography gave me the opportunity to display multiple layers of consciousness, connecting the personal to the religious. The article exposes how young women under such forms of abuse have been silent (until now) and the alienation they suffer as a result of their experiences.