Durban – Calls to track thousands of adolescent mothers for individual assessments of every case and to determine who the fathers are and whether sexual abuse is involved are growing.
The Commission for Gender Equality said the recent rise in underage pregnancies was a clear indication that statutory rape is rife in the country.
“If women are not safe, girls will not be safe because the two are connected. It all boils down to the problem of gender-based violence. It is very difficult to ascertain who impregnated these kids as it happens while we are under lockdown. It cannot be that all of them wereimpregnated by their peers,” said the commission’s spokesperson Javu Baloyi.
The chairperson of the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus, Nkhensani Bilankulu, said the situation is unacceptable.
“There is a legal age for sexual consent, and 10 years old is definitely not the age. I want to see all the perpetrators, be it educators or anyone else, behind bars. I call on the authorities to clearly state how many cases have been opened that relate to teenage pregnancies,” said Bilankulu.
Dr Arlene Adams, the interim federal leader of the DA Women’s Network, pointed to the South African social fabric, saying it has been tainted by widespread health, socio-economic and political factors.
“While the predators and rapists get away with non-support to the mother and paying no maintenance for their children, these young mothers and babies are ensnared in poverty.
“The educational cycle of the girls is also interrupted and these educational factors breed a vicious cycle of generational poverty. This greatly enlarges the already existent gender gap on all levels, especially the educational and economical levels,” she said.
Childline South Africa CEO Dumisile Nala said the statistics pointed to a lack of a comprehensive strategy to deal with children’s rights to safety.
“The pregnancies clearly mean that rape was committed. We believe these cases have been reported to social workers for assessment and for police to investigate. “But where is the role of parents in all this?”
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