According to the Recorded Live Births 2021 report released by Statistics SA there was an increase in the number of teenage mothers in 2021.
Image by SA Gov.
Teen pregnancy crisis: Schools will be OBLIGATED to tell police
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has gazetted a new policy on the prevention and management of teenage pregnancy
According to the Recorded Live Births 2021 report released by Statistics SA there was an increase in the number of teenage mothers in 2021.
Image by SA Gov.
As part of a bid by government to tackle teenage pregnancy, schools will now be compelled to report to police when a pupil who falls pregnant is younger than 16 and the expectant father is older than 16. There has been great concern surrounding teen pregnancy in schools around the country, which government reckons has reached a state of crisis.
The rise in teenage girls falling pregnant, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been attributed to a number of factors, including the difficulty of accessing contraceptives.
NEW POLICY ON TEEN PREGNANCY GAZETTED
According to City Press, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has gazetted a new policy on the prevention and management of teenage pregnancy. There are several aims of the new policy, including reducing teen pregnancies in South African schools. Given that the age of consent for both boys and girls is 16 – which technically means those underage have been raped.
Now as per the new policy, a school would be mandated to report the rape (under certain conditions – the girl is underage and the father of the unborn child is over 16) to the South African Police Service (SAPS). The policy also states that attention needs to be placed on the father – whether he is a fellow pupil, teacher or someone outside of the education fraternity.
On confirmation of the biological father’s identity, if he is a pupil, he should be counselled and guided to assume and sustain his rights and responsibilities
Teenage Pregnancy Policy
According to the South African Medical Research Council (SAMC), even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 16% of young women aged 15-19 had begun childbearing. The figure ranges between 11% in urban areas and 19% in rural areas.
One factor that has contributed to this is violence against women and girls. In South Africa one in three women experience gender based-violence and one in five children under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse.
“Deficiencies in the health system also contribute to teenage pregnancies. It’s not always easy for adolescents to get contraceptives if services aren’t youth-friendly. Education about contraception for adolescents is inadequate too. In South Africa, 31% of girls aged 15 to 19 aren’t getting the contraceptives they need – a bigger proportion of this age group than other age groups”
South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)
