STAKEHOLDERS have expressed concern about the increasing rate of teenage and child pregnancies in South Africa.
According to a recent survey 20% of girls in the study admitted to having had an adolescent pregnancy, and 6% of men admitted to having impregnated a girl during their adolescent years.
About 16%, aged from 10 to 19 years, said they had had unwanted pregnancies, while about 6.7% had ever terminated a pregnancy.
Among the organisations that have expressed concern at the numbers is Ubuntu Rural Women and Youth, which said: “We are shocked to learn that a total of 2 716 girls between the ages of 10-14 years, and 119 586 girls between 15-19 years, became mothers in the country between April 2023 and March 2024.”
Saying it was clear that many were the result of rape, Ubuntu said: “These young children aged 10 to 15 cannot consent to sex as per legislation, and possibly many more above the age of 16 too."
The National Library of Medicine found that the problem was widespread across rural and urban settings, and across Africa. Poverty, and a lack of education and awareness were found to be the underlying factors.
“While almost 20% of those we spoke to said they got pregnant because they wanted to prove their maturity or identity as women, 55.5% got pregnant the first time because they did not understand the risks involved in what they were doing or did not understand how pregnancy happens. Most respondents (74.1%) indicated that their pregnancies were unwanted but only 7% said they had terminated a pregnancy or persuaded someone to do so,” it said.
The majority (70%) of the girls surveyed said women had more responsibilities than men, while more than one in five believed that they had fewer opportunities than boys after leaving school. "One in three felt that they are unequal to males and four in five believed women were always vulnerable to violence and abuse,“ the Library of Medicine said.
On sexual and reproductive health information and services, the 85% of respondents said they had heard about reproduction from their teachers, 74% got their information from a clinic, while less than 50% had had discussions about sex and reproduction with their mothers or other caregivers.
“We did come across 70% who said older sisters and aunties had spoken to them about this, others had gleaned information from adults berating them, but never speaking directly as the topic remains taboo in many homes.”
Ubuntu said there was a lot of work that had to be done if the girl child was to be saved. "“They deserve a life in which they have all the information in the palm of their hand, so they make informed choices and never have to face a life of poverty of economic exclusion due to the choices they made.”
The organisation called for prevention programmes aimed at identifying vulnerable girls, and to educate children about their bodies and safety issues. “It is also important to have a comprehensive early sex education programme that will bring the numbers of teenage pregnancies down and allow girls to be girls and enjoy their girlhood.”
Leaving boys out of the discussion was not an option, said Ubuntu, as they also went into situations without understanding, and, in some instances, bearing the brunt of becoming fathers while they were still young.
Minister in the Presidency Responsible for the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, raised concern about the economic consequences of teenage pregnancies.
She spoke of how early pregnancy forced many girls to drop out of school and trapped others in a cycle of poverty, while leaving many more stigmatised by society for being teenage mothers.
“Some are forced into early marriages,” Dlamini-Zuma said, adding that the country continued to show the highest rate of teenage pregnancies globally, with nearly one in four girls falling pregnant before the age of 20.