Lifeskills 2,743 vulnerable children South Africa

I hope you are well and staying safe!

It is incredibly difficult at times to remain positive in the light of the struggles we are seeing children facing in South Africa.

Two weeks ago in a report, I sent you, I spoke about Teenage Pregnancy and Keep The Dream196. The fact that we had not had any of our girls become pregnant during Lockdown despite an explosion of 60% new teenage pregnancies cited by the Department of Health in Gauteng. Although there is cause to celebrate for KTD196 I am saddened by a follow-up report I have just read and need to share it with you to help put in context what we are up against.

The Department of Basic Education this week reported 36,000 learner pregnancies and births in the first quarter of 2021. This does not include another 10,000 learners that statistically could have had pregnancies that did not lead to birth.

If as many as 20% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, we may safely extrapolate that a reported 36,000 births to 36,000 school-going teenagers/children — assuming no multiple births — means there were almost 45,000 learners who started out pregnant but just over 7,000 learners did not carry to term. That is just for the first quarter of 2021!!!!!

An article on research carried out in South Africa and published in September 2020, which has as its main focus the question ‘what is the link between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy among AGYW (adolescent girls and young women)?’ states that:

“Unintended pregnancy was higher among survivors of sexual violence (54.4%) compared to those who never experienced sexual abuse (34.3%). In the multivariable analysis, sexual violence was consistently and robustly associated with increased odds of having an unintended pregnancy…” Gender-Based Violence has come to the forefront during the Covid Lockdowns however, it has always been there and more and more children are falling prey to this type of assault.

This is the bigger picture of learner pregnancy in South Africa, the fact that most of these pregnancies arise out of forced or coerced sexual acts.

So we have an inordinate amount of young girls being sexually abused, being raped, and falling pregnant! The story doesn't end there!

Many girls who become pregnant while in school also drop out — the Department of Basic Education (DBE) says one in three do not come back to school.

Daily Maverick Newspaper (South Africa) spoke to *Emily who was 16 and in grade 11 when she fell pregnant (she had been in a relationship). She said when she realized that she was pregnant, “I felt like a disappointment to my family.”

Emily said that her teachers were supportive of her decision to stay in school, but that her classmates were a different story as they made nasty comments: “I used to hate going to school because I’d be depressed and cry every day…” but “once I found out that I was pregnant I knew I had no choice but to finish school so that I’ll be able to look after my baby.”

Emily is ‘one of the lucky ones in that she did not fall pregnant due to violence or coercion and also because she felt supported by her teachers.

In many instances, the social taboos that existed a decade or more ago around being pregnant at school, persist. And despite laws regulating the fact that children cannot be denied an education due to pregnancy, there are schools that suspend pregnant students. A study by the Central University of Technology looks at ‘learner pregnancy in secondary schools in South Africa’ and asks " Have attitudes and perceptions of teachers changed?"

According to the study, in which a focus group of teachers was interviewed aged between 27 and 52, teachers are not willing to have pregnant girls in class: “…teachers interviewed demonstrated their unwillingness to adhere to the law. As a result, pregnant learners are advised or coerced to stay at home for the remainder of their pregnancy as the school environment is not tolerant towards them.”

This study on teacher attitudes also showed that “female learners are discriminated against and male learners who impregnate female learners are exonerated from taking the responsibility.” The study further quoted teachers saying “the classroom should not be turned into a maternity ward” and “it is the responsibility of the pregnant female learner… not that of teachers…”

This illustrates how the pregnant learner is often victimized in multiple ways —  first by a predator, then teachers, classmates, and the community: “It is a taboo in many communities for a school-going child to fall pregnant while still being a learner.”

From personal experience, working in local clinics in South Africa, I know that young people who approach local nurses for family planning advice and support are often denigrated and abused as whores for requesting condoms or the pill. This of course leaves them open to becoming pregnant when involved in an intimate relationship such as Emily may have experienced.

KTD196's role is not just education and prevention of teenage pregnancy but also to empower young people to know their rights and also to hold duty bearers responsible to ensure those rights are realized.

It's a huge job, that is why our partnership with you is so vital to ensure our success and the lasting impact of the work we do. Changing adult mindsets and dare I say, cultures, is very difficult, time-consuming, and exhausting however the alternative is more and more children becoming parents to unwanted babies and so the cycle of violence and neglect is perpetuated. We also work with boys to ensure they are respectful and protective of girls, they behave like older brothers ensuring that the girls are always accompanied home safely after activities with KTD196.

Thank you for choosing KTD196 to support us, you are assisting us in so many ways. This is a difficult subject make no mistake, but together we are bringing change. Thank you! Thank you for seeing the bigger picture and believing in the work we do.

God bless you

Louise

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