Online predatory behaviour towards children normalised

THE new report by the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC), which has revealed deeply troubling narratives and trends regarding child sexual exploitation, teenage pregnancy, and the normalisation of predatory behaviour toward minors on social media platforms, has raised concern and been labelled “chilling”.

- THEOLIN TEMBO

The report, “After 12 is Lunch’, covers the period from 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025, exposing how child predation is perpetuated, rationalised, and endorsed online in South Africa.

Some of the report's key findings have shown that there is weak accountability when it comes to rampant teenage pregnancy and that some social media users openly supported relationships between adult men and minor girls.

“Over 7 600 pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 14 were reported in eThekwini alone, with the youngest mother just 10 years old. Many users blamed societal failure and called for automatic statutory rape investigations in all such cases. Alarmingly, others blamed the minors themselves or justified the relationships for financial reasons,’ the report said.

“Phrases like ‘after 12 is Iunch’ and cultural arguments were used to excuse or normalise exploitation. A church was also flagged for condoning a marriage between a 55-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman. The marriage is legal but heavily criticised on ethical grounds”

It also mentioned how a handful of accounts on X, formerly Twitter, were responsible for posting and sharing sexually explicit content involving underage children, especially girls in school uniforms. “While these posts often received little engagement, they accumulated high view counts, suggesting silent consumption by many users.

“Instead of unified condemnation, many responses devolved into racial finger-pointing, with some users attempting to portray child predation as a racial issue. This harmful rhetoric risks obscuring the broader systemic problem) the report added.