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Child moms: we're enablers
The Citizen
|January 10, 2025
We have been grappling with the reality of statutory rape for years. It's not new.
We can all agree that the number of children giving birth is appalling. But the real problem is this: we are enablers.
In the North West province, a 16-year-old girl gave birth to her second child in two years, which means she was only 14 when she had her first baby. The father? A 35-year-old man.
In the Eastern Cape, a 12 year old gave birth on New Year's Day. That is a Grade 7 pupil. A child who should be busy with dolls but instead became a mother.
This didn't start yesterday. It's been happening for a while. Go to any high school in South Africa and you'll find a bigger list.
According to Amnesty International, the number of births to girls aged 10 to 14 in the country increased by 48.7% between April 2017, and September 2021.
This story is from the January 10, 2025 edition of The Citizen.
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