The teenage pregnancy rates in South Africa are high. The highest in the world.
In a parliamentary response in June 2022, the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, revealed that between April 2021 and March 2022, girls aged 10 to 19 had almost 90 000 pregnancies.
Current statistics on adolescent/teenage pregnancy show that there has been a significant increase in young girls falling pregnant since then. These statistics reveal that over 150 000 young girls were pregnant in the 2022/2023 financial year.
These numbers do not factor in variables such as, backstreet abortions, home births, miscarriages and babies whose births are not registered.
Below is an infographic that illustrates the adolescent/teenage pregnancy crisis in South Africa:
Current statistics on adolescent/teenage pregnancy show that there has been a significant increase in young girls falling pregnant since then. These statistics reveal that over 150 000 young girls were pregnant in the 2022/2023 financial year.
These numbers do not factor in variables such as, backstreet abortions, home births, miscarriages and babies whose births are not registered.
Below is an infographic that illustrates the adolescent/teenage pregnancy crisis in South Africa:
Click HERE for the original graph.
The country has also recorded at least 190 teenage mothers on the New Year`s Day as compared to slightly over 145 recorded on Christmas Day, and the youngest mothers being the 14-year-olds from KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape provinces
Imagine the weight of responsibility for caring for a child when you are not yet fully grown yourself, and the fear of being shamed by parents, fellow learners, and even strangers within the community?
The Boy Child programme is a support group for boys. It is designed to equip boys between the age of 12 to 18 to cope with challenges around sexuality, morality and anti-social behaviour. This programme is aimed at promoting positive attitudes and respectful behaviour towards women.
The country has also recorded at least 190 teenage mothers on the New Year`s Day as compared to slightly over 145 recorded on Christmas Day, and the youngest mothers being the 14-year-olds from KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape provinces
Imagine the weight of responsibility for caring for a child when you are not yet fully grown yourself, and the fear of being shamed by parents, fellow learners, and even strangers within the community?
The Boy Child programme is a support group for boys. It is designed to equip boys between the age of 12 to 18 to cope with challenges around sexuality, morality and anti-social behaviour. This programme is aimed at promoting positive attitudes and respectful behaviour towards women.
The goal is to empower the boy child with skills to make enlightened life choices that lead to responsible citizenship and role models between their peers and for the future. It will enable young people develop skills to plan their future, prepare for life challenges, enhance relationship skills, learn the basics of personal growth, and understand how to seek economic opportunities.
Child Welfare South Africa’s (CWSA) “Empowering the Girl Child” project aims to inspire and empower girl children living under disadvantaged circumstances to lead successful, independent and fulfilling lives. The CWSA project is designed to encourage positive role modelling and focuses on positive change at three levels namely:
* Personal Change in girls participating in the project
* Group Change through formal and informal contacts between community.
* Community Change as changes in individual girls as well as the collective caregivers and the girls within the project group impacts on the larger community’s social norms, beliefs and practices.
In achieving the above clear objectives have been developed and are as follows:
* Strengthen and capacitate community based programmes so as to identify and intervene with girls living under difficult circumstances.
* To enhance training materials focusing on gender issues including discrimination and violence.
* To train community caregivers within existing programmes to provide ongoing mentoring, support and assistance to vulnerable girls.
* Implement group work support programmes for vulnerable girls.
* To raise awareness within families, schools and communities with regards to gender inequality.
* Strengthen and capacitate community based programmes so as to identify and intervene with girls living under difficult circumstances.
* To enhance training materials focusing on gender issues including discrimination and violence.
* To train community caregivers within existing programmes to provide ongoing mentoring, support and assistance to vulnerable girls.
* Implement group work support programmes for vulnerable girls.
* To raise awareness within families, schools and communities with regards to gender inequality.
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