A total of 296 pregnancies among girls aged between 10 and 14 years in the Western Cape during the 2024/25 financial year has prompted renewed calls from political parties and gender-based violence organisations for stronger enforcement and criminal investigations.
The figures, released by the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness and shared by DA Western Cape spokesperson on Social Development Wendy Kaizer-Philander, have raised concern about the increasing number of very young children affected, Cape Argus reports.
Kaizer-Philander said the trend required urgent attention from both health authorities and law enforcement agencies, adding that cases involving children of this age must be treated as criminal matters.
“An alarming 296 pregnancies were recorded among girls aged 10 to 14 years in the Western Cape during the 2024/25 financial year,” she said.
“When a child as young as 10 years old presents as pregnant, there can be no ambiguity: this is evidence of child sexual abuse and, at a minimum, statutory rape.
“Such cases must be reported to the South African Police Service and investigated without delay, as required by law.
“The DA is unequivocal in its position that children must be protected, perpetrators must be held accountable, and every institution with a legal duty to act must do so without hesitation.
“Failure to report, investigate, and prosecute cases of child rape and statutory rape not only denies victims justice but also encourages a culture of impunity for perpetrators.”
She added that the Western Cape Legislature’s Standing Committee on Social Development would summon the Departments of Social Development, Education, and Health and Wellness, along with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the South African Police Service’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit, to account on the matter.
Children’s rights organisation Ilitha Labantu said the statistics reflected a deepening crisis that was too often mischaracterised in public debate.
Siya Monakali of Ilitha Labantu said the framing of such cases as “teenage pregnancy” risks obscuring the seriousness of child sexual abuse.
“While these figures have generated public concern, we are equally concerned by the manner in which they are often framed in public discourse. Too often, pregnancies involving children are discussed under the broad category of ‘teenage pregnancy’, a term that risks obscuring the reality of what these statistics represent. These are not simply teenage pregnancies. These are children.“
He said children aged 10 to 14 could not be viewed in the same category as older adolescents in discussions about pregnancy.
“A child aged 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14 years cannot be viewed through the same lens as older adolescents when discussing pregnancy,” he said.
Monakali said each case should be treated as a potential instance of child sexual abuse, exploitation or coercion, and handled through the appropriate child protection and criminal justice systems.
“As a country, we must be careful not to normalise or sanitise what should be treated as a child protection emergency. The real story is not that children are becoming pregnant. The real story is that children are being violated.”
The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness has previously reported a broader rise in adolescent deliveries. Over the past three financial years, deliveries among females aged 11 to 19 increased by 26.66%.
According to the department, there were 8,114 deliveries in 2022/23, rising to 9,938 in 2023/24, and 10,277 in 2024/25.
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Genevieve Serra
iol.co.za