By Siyabonga Mkhwanazi 
25m ago
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Cape Town – Parliament has called for harsh action against those responsible for impregnating girls as young as 10 years after figures showed a high number of schoolgirls giving birth.
More than 23 000 girls, some aged between 10 and 14 years, fell pregnant in Gauteng between April last year and March this year.
On Friday, chairperson of the multiparty women’s caucus in Parliament Nkhensani Kate Bilankulu said law enforcement agencies should act swiftly against those impregnating the girls.
She said the law did not allow girls to have sex. Anyone found involved in the acts must face the full might of the law.
“I would like to urge the authorities to leave no stone unturned to act harshly against the perpetrators. There is a legal age for sexual consent, and 10 years old is definitely not the age.
“I want to see all the perpetrators, be it educators or anyone else, behind bars. I call on the authorities to clearly state how many cases have been opened that relate to teenage pregnancies,” said Bilankulu.
The Gauteng girls aged between 10 and 14 years gave birth to 934 babies. The girls between the ages of 15 and 19 gave birth to 19 000 children. A further 3 000 girls, aged between 10 and 19 years, had abortions.
Bilankulu said the figures showed that action had to be taken against the perpetrators.
“I have noted that young girls, legally underaged girls are getting pregnant. This state of affairs is very concerning. These staggering numbers, released during Women’s Month, what does it mean about our young women and girl children?”
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