Gangs of women in Zimbabwe have been picking up male travellers to have sexual intercourse and harvest their sperm, according to reports。

　　Susan Dhliwayo claims she pulled her car over recently to pick up a group of male hitchhikers and they refused to get in, because they feared they were going to be raped。

　　"Now, men fear women. They said: 'we can't go with you because we don't trust you'," 19-year-old Miss Dhliwayo recounted。

　　Local media have reported victims of the highway prowlers

　　being drugged, subdued at gun or knife point – even with a live snake in one case – given a sexual stimulant and forced into repeated sex before being dumped on the roadside。

　　The sperm hunters first surfaced in the local press in 2009 but police have only arrested three women, found with a plastic bag of 31 used condoms in October. The attacks have continued since they were nabbed for allegedly violating 17 men。

　　"We do not have the exact number of confirmed cases," said national police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena。

　　"These cases occurred mostly when the victims were hitchhiking and boarded private vehicles. We encourage people to use public transport."

　　The sperm's exact use is not clear but is thought to be intended for "juju" or traditional rituals to bring luck – anything from enhancing good fortune, boosting business or preventing a criminal from being detected。

　　It is also not known why the semen is taken forcibly from strangers。

　　"It's really an issue which is mind boggling," said University of Zimbabwe sociologist Watch Ruparanganda, who believes it is a lucrative business. "It's quite a big mystery. Obviously we know (it is) being used for rituals."

　　Ruparanganda said he was astonished to discover seven years ago that semen appeared to have become a tradable commodity, while doing research for his doctoral thesis among Harare street youth who told him that businessmen would take them to hotels, give them new clothes and ply them with booze。

　　They were then told to pick a prostitute and to hand over the used condom after sex。

　　"It just shows there's some big racket somewhere, some big guys driving everything, but they are in the background and using these ladies," said Ruparanganda。

　　据报道，津巴布韦一女子团伙近日来专挑男性旅客，与其发生性行为后获取他们的精液。

　　苏珊•德里维尤称，前一阵她将车开到路边让一群男性旅行者搭便车，被他们拒绝了，因为他们害怕自己会被强奸。

　　19岁的苏珊小姐讲述道：“现在是男人害怕女人。他们说：‘我们不能上你的车，因为我们不信任你。’”

　　当地媒体报道了一些在公路边活动的受害者的遭遇，他们有的被下药，有的在枪口或刀尖(甚至有一回是活蛇)的逼迫下服用性兴奋剂，被迫多次性交，完事后被扔在路边。

　　精子猎头首次出现在当地媒体报道上是在2009年，但是警方在那年10月只逮捕了三名妇女，同时还缴获了一个装有31个用过的安全套的塑料袋。警方以侵犯17名男性的罪名逮捕了她们，但自那以后攻击事件还是持续上演。

　　国家警署发言人韦恩•布乌德吉耶那说：“目前我们对已经证实的个案数量还不明确。”

　　“最经常遇害的情况是搭乘顺风车和上私人汽车。因此我们鼓励人们使用公共交通工具。”

　　精液的确切用途还不是很清楚，但是有人认为它是被用于物神崇拜等传统仪式，以带来好运。只要是能带来好运的事物都行，目的可能是为了促进生意发展，或是防止罪犯踪迹败露。

　　精液为什么要以强迫的方式从陌生人那里获取也还不知道。

　　津巴布韦大学的社会学家沃趣•鲁帕朗甘达说：“这真是一个令人费解的问题。”他相信这是一桩利润颇丰的买卖，他说：“这真是个谜。不过我们知道这显然是用于仪式的。”

　　鲁帕朗甘达说七年前他在做博士毕业论文研究时，震惊地发现精液似乎成了一种可买卖的商品。他在津巴布韦首都哈拉雷的街头青年当中做调查时，那些年青人告诉他说，商人会带他们去宾馆，送他们新衣服，给他们灌酒。

　　然后他们被告知挑一个妓女，性交之后把安全套交给商人。

　　鲁帕朗甘达说：“这表明在某个地方存在着大型非法交易，一些大人物操纵着一切，不过他们是在幕后行动，而这些妇女是受他们利用的。”