Intercourse as a form of treatment

If a traditional healer prescribes sexual intercourse with a client as a form of examination or treatment for an ailment and the client consents on belief that she will get healed, does that constitute rape?
PO, Dar

It is an unethical and an offence for a traditional healer to have sexual intercourse with a client. Regulation 9 of the Traditional and Alternative Medicine (Code of Ethics, Conduct and Practice) Regulations, 2008 (GN No. 409 of 2008) as amended by GN No. 425 of 2017 prohibits traditional healers from engaging in any sexual relationship with a client. A traditional healer has a duty to protect his client against any form of sexual abuse. He is not allowed to prescribe or administer sexual intercourse as a form of treatment of any ailment be it physical or spiritual. Even where the client requests to pay cost of treatment in form of sexual intercourse, the traditional healer should not accept it.

Where a male traditional healer is examining or treating a girl under the age of 18 years, he should do so in the presence of a parent or relative of the client. A traditional healer is required by regulation 15(a) to keep record of every client he attends. The record kept includes the name, address, age and ailment of the client as well as the medicine dispensed or administered to the client.

A traditional healer who takes advantage of his position to have sexual intercourse with a girl or woman he is attending, commits a serious offence of rape contrary to section 130(3)(d) of the Penal Code and he becomes liable to a minimum term of 30 years imprisonment.