Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga has expressed concern over teenage pregnancy in the country. She said the issue has reached crisis level with with over 70,000 cases recorded in 2024. 

CRY, OUR BELOVED 

Chikunga said this is a concern to South Africans because it's not only teenagers who are becoming young mothers but there are minors as young as 10 years of age who bear children. "This is statutory rape faced by young children who are supposed to be at school enjoying themselves but they are forced to be mothers when they are not ready to be that," Chikunga said. She added that she believes that the problem of statutory rape stems from failures in families. "Many children are not socialised properly and the lack of morality amongst many older South Africans who are males because it is older men who impregnate them. They even tell the victims to lie and when they are asked about the age of the father at home so they may not be arrested.'

INCEST

Chikunga said there are children in a province she did not want to mention that are products of incest, who do not have birth certificates and don't even go to school. "It talks to the level within which we have deteriorated as South Africans, where a biological father sees a sex object in their daughter," the minister said. Recently a 16-year-old girl from the North West became a mother for the second time in two years. On New Year's Day, a 12-year-old gave birth in the Eastern Cape, and on Christmas Day a 13-year-old also gave birth in Limpopo. "To hear that a 16-year-old is giving birth to a second child is cause for concern. That is a case that needs to be followed up and the perpetrator arrested because this is another case of statutory rape."