South Africa has a sad and shocking truth hidden behind closed doors – girls as young as 10 years old have become pregnant over the last year. As communities grapple with the repercussions of teen pregnancies, it’s essential to address the root causes and provide resources for prevention and support. In a two-part series, Health For Mzansi journalists Vateka Halile and Candice Khumalo investigate.
Falling pregnant and raising a baby when you are a teenager, is not child’s play. Imagine balancing the ups and downs of adoloscence with going to school and family life, all while carrying the weight of a future you didn’t quite plan for.
‘It was horrific’
Babalwa Wontoti-Tempi’s life in East London, Eastern Cape was upended when she became pregnant at 15 years old. After a trip to the doctor confirmed the pregnancy, she became the centre of gossip and speculation in her community.
She felt like an outcast, she says, and the constant talk about teen pregnancy made her feel even more isolated from her friends and peers. It was a difficult time, and she struggled to find her place in the world.
Babalwa Wontoti-Tempi
“I was pregnant; my whole life just crashed in front of my eyes. At the time I was even suicidal I had so many questions about how, when, and what next.”
She does not want to share how she became pregnant, but says, “I can’t deeply get into what was happening but all I can say is it was a horrific ordeal.”
Reflecting on her teenage pregnancy and early years of motherhood, Wontoti-Tempi says she struggled to balance her new responsibilities with her life as a student.
She remembers countless sleepless nights and the difficulties of trying to care for her child while still attending school. “I had my resentment, self-convictions, and mild depression I was blaming myself a lot.”
Luckily, Wontoti-Tempi landed back on her feet. However, it does not always work out like that for all teens and some never recover.
A mother’s disappointment
Speaking to Health For Mzansi, a Richards Bay-based mother in KwaZulu-Natal expresses her disappointment after her teenage daughter became pregnant twice. The mother, who asked to remain anonymous, says that she has always tried to teach her daughter about boys but it’s not always easy having the sex talk.
“I have spoken to my daughter a lot about boys but she got pregnant at 15. I had to accept it and teach her about the importance of safe sex and being responsible going forward,” the mother says.
Unfortunately, her teachings fell on deaf ears because her daughter fell pregnant again two years later.
“She got pregnant again at now 17, and I have become the children’s mother because she is still in school. Our financial situation has become harder and it is a very embarrassing experience to face as a parent, you also become a laughingstock in the community,” she says.
“I feel like I have failed and my main concern is for my daughter’s future and the impact these early pregnancies may have on her life. I am angry at her at times but will continue to support her. I don’t have a choice.”
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The shocking statistics
Teenage pregnancy usually occurs in women under 20, however, the number of girls becoming pregnant has skyrocketed. What is even more heart-breaking is that girls are getting pregnant younger, including girls as young as 10.
According to the department of basic education, 88 000 schoolgirls between the ages 15 and 19 fell pregnant in 2023. Additionally, 2 328 girls between 10 and 14 years old also gave birth.
According to Unathi Kondile, a communications practitioner and advisor from the Eastern Cape, children and young people in rural areas often lack access to safe and healthy forms of entertainment. This leads them to turn to risky and unhealthy activities such as sex and alcohol use.
He believes more should be done to provide youth in rural areas with positive outlets for their energy and creativity, to help them avoid having sex, drugs, and alcohol.
“We need to be honest with society, about the problems we face. These children are bored.”
Kondile says the best way to provide positive outlets for young people in rural areas is to bring entertainment to them. This could include community events like sports tournaments, music and dance performances, and beauty contests.
The age of consent
In many cases, teens become pregnant without having given consent. Parents, teachers and the community at large have the responsibility to inform children of consent and what their rights are.
Before engaging in sexual activity with anyone, it is important to be sure they have given their full consent and are over 16 years of age. Sex with a minor is statutory rape and should be reported.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) senior state advocate Mzoxolo Rusi from the sexual offences and community affairs unit, explains sexual consent under South African law and states that consent has to be free and voluntary, and a person must not be forced to agree to sexual activity.
“There is a difference between consenting and submitting. Some people may find themselves not wanting to have sex, but the circumstances at the time force them to submit themselves to a sexual activity. You must be sure that the person you want to be intimate with is voluntarily agreeing, and not submitting themselves.”
Advocate Mzoxolo Rusi
Rusi says the NPA has had cases where parents want charges pressed, but the children refuse to cooperate because they say they are in a relationship with the other person.
In that case, he encourages parents to take their children for counselling, so they realise they were violated. Even if a person realises many years later that they were sexually assaulted, they need to come forward and they will investigate because rape cases never get old.
Sexual offences
Rusi further underlines that sexual offences do not only include the obvious cases of rape or sexual assault. Other offences include:
- Using your power to pressure someone into giving consent. For example, a parent or a teacher cannot use their status and financial power to get a child to engage in sex with them.
- Misrepresenting yourself. There are cases in which an identical twin has sex with a person who has consented to sex with the other twin.
- Having sex with a drunk person. An intoxicated person cannot give consent. Letting someone buy you drinks or a meal is not consent.
- Having sex with a mentally challenged person. In most cases, a mentally challenged person has no understanding of the sexual activity or even knowledge that they need to give consent.
- Withdrawing consent.
- He further emphasises that a person may change their mind even after giving consent – even during the act. When a person says “stop”, you have to stop.
ALSO READ: Teen love: When is the right time to have sex?
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