By Palesa Nguqu
KwaZulu-Natal is grappling with a grim truth – hundreds of young girls are falling victim to sexual abuse and becoming mothers at an alarmingly young age.
Recent statistics paint a stark picture of a crisis that demands urgent intervention.
A recent report by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), covering the period from 1 January 2024 to 28 February 2025, reveals a distressing trend in KZN.
During this period, a significant number of young girls — some as young as 10 — have given birth, a clear indication that many are likely victims of statutory rape.
Thousands more, aged 15 to 19, also became pregnant. These figures are deeply troubling, especially considering that the data represent only registered births, meaning the real numbers are likely much higher.
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Liezl van der Merwe, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, called for the urgent need for action.
“The IFP believes that teenage and child pregnancies are a national crisis, and more must be done to protect our children,” said van der Merwe.
Riona Gokool, the DA’s KZN Spokesperson on Community Safety, has also called for urgent and coordinated action to address the rising cases of child abuse and underage pregnancies.
She emphasised the need for the immediate creation of a dedicated interdepartmental task team, with a clear mandate to identify, report, and prosecute cases involving minors.
Gokool outlined her expectations for the task team — to be established within 30 to 90 days — with district units operational within three months and full provincial deployment within six months.
She stressed that this approach aligns with the DA’s national efforts to promote multi-stakeholder action and provincial oversight.
“The DA demands the immediate creation of a dedicated interdepartmental task team,” Gokool said.
“Our expectations include a mandate to identify and flag every underage pregnancy reported at clinics and schools, ensure mandatory reporting obligations are met, monitor investigation progress from report to docket to NPA, and convene weekly case review meetings for high-risk matters.”
She further highlighted the need to move from reactive audits to real-time, proactive monitoring — including digital docket tracking, court-watching, mandatory reporting protocols, and escalation procedures.
Quarterly public reports in the legislature, she added, would ensure transparency and accountability, tracking data on statutory rape reports, investigations, prosecutions, and convictions.
She further said that the DA is actively advocating for these measures at both provincial and national levels, pressing for the immediate formation of the task team with clear terms of reference, dedicated resources, and a timeline for full implementation.
Concrete interventions such as digital dashboards, expanded court-watching, mandatory reporting checks, specialist detective training, and an NPA fast-track pathway form part of their strategic plan to better protect children, she said.
The report also highlights systemic issues such as delays in birth registration, which hinder access to healthcare and education.
Many births are registered late — sometimes years after birth — due to administrative delays or lack of awareness.
Under the Births and Deaths Registration Act, all births must be registered within 30 days, yet compliance remains a persistent challenge.
Van der Merwe, on the other hand, underscored the need for a coordinated, multi-sectoral response, emphasising that addressing child abuse and underage pregnancy requires collective effort from government, law enforcement, civil society, and communities.
The DA expressed deep concern over the rising statistics, framing them as a systemic failure and a crisis of neglect.
DA MPL Shontel de Boer stated: “Our young girls cannot suffer in silence. Every child deserves to grow up free from abuse, exploitation, and fear. We must do more to safeguard their rights and ensure justice is served.”
These alarming figures serve as a wake-up call for urgent reform.
Protecting children requires early intervention, strong law enforcement, sustained education campaigns, and active community involvement.
Prioritising birth registration is also essential to ensure every child’s rights are protected from day one.
Van der Merwe called for strengthening the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 to clarify enforcement procedures, employing trained social workers, and providing resources to NGOs working with vulnerable children.
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