Brazil's 'sex dance' fad spurs crackdown

The problem, they say, is the "sex dance,'' the latest fad in which teenage girls, fuelled by alcohol and drugs, engage in indiscriminate sex to the beat of macho and sometimes violent songs, putting them at risk of both pregnancy and exposure to sexually-transmitted diseases such as AIDS.

"Teenagers arrive pregnant at municipal health clinics, ignorant of who the father of their child is, and tell the same story,'' said Maria de Fatima Coutinho, a pediatrician for the city's health department and professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Police have begun patrolling the dances to stem the fad. A judge has described organisers of such events as "accomplices to rape.''

The teens arrive at such dances wearing skirts, without panties, Coutinho said.

"For them it's like a game, an initiation, a way of affirming themselves and to be accepted by the group. They don't protect themselves from sexually-transmitted diseases.'' she said.--AFP