Startling data showed that between April 2021 and March 2022, 11 287 girls in Limpopo were reported to be pregnant.
The young women, most of whom are still in school, are a part of South Africa's rising worry over teen pregnancies. But who or what is to blame?
George Moroasui, ethics manager for the South African Council of Educators (Sace), said in a recent interview that many of the 11 287 teenage girls believed to be pregnant are the product of extramarital relationships.
In the same study that listed the startling number of young females, who ranged in age from 10 to 19, it was disclosed that 11 teachers had their employment terminated after it was discovered they had impregnated several of their students.
Comparing the tiny number of 11 verified guilty offenders to the high number of 11 287 instances, Moroasui attributes this to the number of cases that go unresolved as a result of the victims', their parents', and the appropriate authorities' lack of co-operation.
Although the Sexual Offences Act specifies that the age of consent for all genders and sexual orientations is 16 and older, anyone in South Africa under the age of 18 is regarded as a child.
The primary purpose of laws defining the ages of consent is to shield children from sexual exploitation and predation. No youngster under the age of 12 is permitted to agree to sex, according to the legislation. The legal definition of statutory rape or sexual assault is any sexual act with a child under 12.
According to the report, many girls who fit the appropriate age group could not give their consent and were consequently raped.
All children should feel safe in schools, but this safety is jeopardised when teachers and other adults in the community prey on a child’s youth and fragility.
The high rates of teen pregnancies South Africa is experiencing are a result of older men taking advantage of vulnerable schoolgirls, using manipulative techniques encouraged by the pervasive culture of “blessers” and “sugar daddies” in South Africa.
When teen pregnancies are discussed, it's common to place most of the blame on the girls who are now carrying children, omitting the immoral behaviour of older men and educators in positions of authority who actively chose to pursue and groom these young girls and who contributed to the current state of affairs.
Phophi Ramathuba, the health minister for Limpopo in 2021, famously urged schoolgirls to “open your books and close your legs”; the remark went viral online and earned the health minister harsh criticism. She received criticism for placing the entire responsibility of sexual behaviour on girls.
The victimisation of gender-based violence is so pervasive and commonplace in our culture that it frequently goes unreported and ignored.
It’s been observed that the media at times covers sexual assault, rape, or the murder of a woman or a girl with the emphasis primarily on the victim’s behaviour, including who she was out with, what she was wearing, and a variety of other decisions she made.
This focus shifts attention away from violence perpetrators and places blame on the victim.
Continued victim blaming will prevent us ending gender-based violence in our nation, which has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world and a rate of femicide five times the global norm.
To address the rising number of girl students who become pregnant while still in school, the government implemented the Basic Education Pregnancy Policy in December 2021. According to the policy, if a girl is under 16 when she becomes pregnant and the baby's father is over 16, the school must notify the authorities.
The 11 educators were expelled from the Register of Educators after being found guilty of a litany of sexual offences and being deemed “unfit to deal with children”.
Although there is a relationship between Sace and the Department of Basic Education, the department has its own investigative and criminal processes that it must adhere to that are distinct from Sace, whereas Sace lacks the same jurisdiction.
The only legal way to label the guilty instructors as sexual offenders is in a court of law, however it is the duty of the provincial departments of education to alert Sace about the incidents.
Accepting to engage in any sexual activity is referred to as sexual consent. Before engaging in sexual activity, consent should be given.
Rape and sexual assault are both defined as any sexual activity without consent. It is crucial that we teach our children and ourselves what sexual consent is.