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In most cases, older men are coercing girls into having sex with them in exchange for material favours. These encounters are often unplanned, which means condoms or contraceptives are generally not used. File photo
ADOLESCENT BIRTH RATE

Risky behaviour and coercion are driving the teen pregnancy crisis in rural South Africa

According to the 2022-23 District Health Barometer, there has been a 6.1% increase in the number of deliveries by girls and women aged 10 to 19, over the past five years

  • Aarti Bhana
5 min read
Teenage pregnancy needs to move from pointing out problems to finding solutions
CHILD RAPE

Less talk, more solutions, says Soul City on teen pregnancy debates

The institute is hosting a webinar to discuss South Africa’s teen pregnancy rates and child rape

  • Marcia Zali
3 min read
Recent reports have exposed child trafficking, neglect and abuse on a shocking scale inside Ukraine’s own state and state-linked systems.
CHILD RAPE

Teenage pregnancy – which is often child rape – should enrage us

Fixing the system starts at home, where parents and guardians who shield the perpetrators of sexual assault must be held accountable for their complicity

  • Linda Ncube-Nkomo
6 min read
A taxi driver’s boast made it to the TV screen
RAPE CULTURE

(Im)perfect wedding outrage has a silver lining

Men and women are starting to push back against an ingrained culture of sexual violence in South Africa.

  • Verashni Pillay
4 min read
In South Africa, one in three women experience depression or anxiety during pregnancy and after the birth of the child. Photo: David Harrison, M&G
STATUTORY RAPE

Teen sex laws challenged in court

Criminalising child sex could threaten children’s access to health services, writes Heidi Swart.

  • Heidi Swart
7 min read