Time to call the pregnancy of young girls by its real name – rape, says MP Joy Maimela

Following reports of several girls who gave birth over the festive season – including a 13-year-old – action is now being sought as some parliamentary committees want to work together and hold those responsible accountable.

This was the overwhelming sentiment on Thursday, 16 January during a media briefing by the social cluster parliamentary chairpersons. Aside from this week’s historic matric results and the reopening of schools, among the biggest issues raised were the headlines on girls and teenagers giving birth. 

Daily Maverick reported in August 2024 that almost 100 girls between 10 and 14 had given birth since April.

The SABC reported in December that a 28-year-old Limpopo man was arrested on a charge of statutory rape after a 13-year-old girl gave birth on Christmas Day. In January, ENCA reported that a 35-year-old man from North West was under investigation after a 16-year-old girl gave birth for the second time.

Teen pregnancy is not a new topic in South Africa, but the ages and circumstances of pregnant girls have caused serious discussions about what is to be done. In a statement on 2 January 2025,  the Department of Health said there had been 80 recorded teen pregnancies in 2024. This was down from the 108 reported in 2023. 

“Teenage pregnancy often leads to irregular school attendance, poor performance and ultimately school dropout, especially for mothers who lack family support structures to take care of the babies when the mothers go to school.

“The Department of Health, working together with sister departments of Social Development and Basic Education will continue to support all mothers through existing programmes to ensure their babies survive and thrive,” said the department. 

On Thursday, Joy Maimela, chairperson of the parliamentary committee on basic education said that “addressing teenage pregnancy in South Africa requires a multifaceted approach, focusing on education, healthcare access and community involvement to safeguard the rising futures of our young girls.” 

The committee would focus on teenage pregnancy and statutory rape this year, she said. 

The committee would seek to to work with other parliamentary committees on addressing the matter and developing a draft concept document which would also solicit public opinion on teenage pregnancies. This, as Maimela explained, would also look at how other policies had worked, or not. 

She said the committee would seek inputs on the issue from across the board – NGOs, parents, schools and learner representative councils. 

“We are doing this jointly because among other things, it negatively affects young girls’ completion of school; many of the affected victims become pregnant as early as 10 years old,” she said.

When asked by Daily Maverick about why the focus had now shifted when teenage pregnancy was a longstanding issue, she said it was not just due to the recent media attention on the issue, but also because of the rise in reported gender-based violence cases. Although the two were different, there was a huge problem when 10-year-old girls fell pregnant. “It’s not teenage pregnancy, it’s rape,” Maimela said.

What needed to be addressed, she said, was how the education department would ensure that social workers and teachers identified learners who were undergoing this kind of abuse. 

During the briefing, Maimela commented on health committee chairperson Dr Sbongiseni Dhlomo’s comments that health workers should perhaps be the designated reporters of teenage pregnancy. 

She said, “Why is it left to only the healthcare workers to report the statutory rape? Where are the teachers who have seen them, the parents, this is what we need to engage on.” 

Her comments on families speaking up echoed those made by Social Development Minister Sisi Tolashe during a ministerial visit to Delft last week, who also questioned parental involvement after residents brought up issues of teenage pregnancy.

Read more: Social development minister reaches out and promises to attend to a desperate community’s problems

During the briefing, Dhlomo suggested that school sports programmes needed to be resuscitated in a bid to keep children occupied. In addition, Dhlomo questioned what had happened to campaigns such as LoveLife.

But importantly, the issue shouldn’t just be raised during the festive season when babies were celebrated, he said. “Every day there’s a teenage pregnancy giving birth… Why is the mother, the grandmother not reporting this matter and waiting for the healthcare worker to report him?” Dhlomo said. DM