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Gauta Mashego & Teri Brown
We are more than halfway into 2026, and the unrest in South Africa has pointed to serious socioeconomic challenges plaguing the nation.
Thirty-two years into our democracy, the youth, though liberated politically, face high unemployment and poverty. These interconnected challenges contribute to rising teenage pregnancy and stand as a threat to the future of young people.
The Commission for Gender Equality recently made a presentation to the Portfolio committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, which highlighted that only one in three adolescent mothers returns to school, with the likelihood of returning declining significantly as time passes after childbirth.
They commission identified several barriers that prevent pregnant learners from completing their education, including stigma, statutory rape, limited access to healthcare and sexual health awareness.
The Department of Health also raised serious concerns over a sharp increase in teenage pregnancies, reporting that more than 160 of the 1,669 babies born across our public health facilities on New Year’s Day were delivered by teenage mothers, double the number recorded in 2025.
These figures underscore a deeper reality that, for many adolescent girls, pregnancy does not happen in isolation but within the contexts of poverty, inequality and limited opportunities.
According to Stats SA, nearly 124,000 births were recorded among mothers aged 19 and younger between January 2024 and February 2025. A recent study by the World Bank found that South Africa’s adolescent pregnancy rate is more than five times the global high-income country average. This indicator is important because the World Health Organization uses it as a sustainable development goal Target 3.7 on sexual and reproductive health.
This is a crisis that the government cannot address alone. Parents, community leaders, and society at large must work together to create safe, supportive environments that enable adolescent girls to return to school while also advocating and supporting efforts to reduce teenage pregnancy.
Sexual violence in schools as an underlying factor to teenage pregnancy:
Addressing teenage pregnancy requires confronting sexual violence and gender-based violence in schools. Not all adolescent pregnancies result from consensual relationships; some stem from coercion, abuse and exploitation by older partners.
SECTION27 released a report that revealed shortcomings in the implementation of the National Child Protection Register; a tool intended to protect learners from violence in schools and prevent the employment of people found unsuitable to work with children.
In March 2025, only 12% of educators were vetted against the register. The report indicates that the effective maintenance and completeness of the register are hindered by weak interdepartmental coordination, insufficient human resources and delays in processing and submitting records, and low public awareness resulting in incomplete enquiries.
This low vetting rate increases the risk for learners when educators who have been found unsuitable to work with children are not identified before being placed in schools. It is therefore important to strengthen child protection measures, reporting systems and accountability.
Impact of teenage pregnancy on mental health
Beyond the impact of education and economic opportunity, teenage pregnancy often forces young girls to navigate the demands of adulthood before they are emotionally and psychologically prepared. What should be a time of growth and discovery can become a period marked by fear, isolation and uncertainty.
Research published in the African Journal of Reproductive Health found that pregnant and parenting adolescent girls face an increased risk of mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder. These challenges are often linked to pregnancy denial, limited parental support and difficulties navigating the realities of pregnancy and parenthood.
In the context of education, many pregnant learners experience stigma, social isolation and discrimination from peers, educators and community members. They are often expected to continue their education while balancing the physical, emotional and financial challenges of pregnancy, frequently without adequate support. To compound the stress, many live in households that are affected by unemployment and financial instability which severely affects their mental health.
Another contributing factor is the health system failures which contribute to the crisis. Many adolescents face barriers such as limited access to youth-friendly maternal and mental health services, breaches of confidentiality, long waiting times at public facilities and judgmental attitudes and treatment from healthcare workers.
These experiences often discourage young people from seeking contraceptives, sexual and reproductive health information and mental health support.
For many young people, adolescence is already a challenging period. For pregnant learners, the pressures are often greater, yet access to mental health services is limited.
The National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2023-2030 recognises pregnancy and adolescence as critical stages requiring mental health support but also acknowledges that South Africa lacks adequate mental health services for children and adolescents. As a result, many learners continue to navigate emotional and psychological challenges with little support.
The framework envisions a more supportive education system through school-based support teams, mental health literacy in the curriculum and stronger learner support services.
The framework also calls for improved screening and referral systems, training for school support teams, and expanded access to youth-friendly health services. These services, offered through clinics and primary healthcare centres, are intended to provide safe spaces where young people can access information, counselling and care, helping them make healthier choices and better cope with the challenges they face.
It is clear that these objectives remain far from reality for many young people who continue to navigate significant emotional and psychological challenges.
Breaking the cycle of adolescent pregnancy and inequality
Keeping pregnant and parenting learners in school must remain a priority. Having practical measures such as access to psychosocial support services, academic catch-up programmes and support for teenage mothers, and strengthened referral systems between clinics and schools can prevent pregnancy from becoming a lifelong barrier to completing their education.
The barriers facing young girls do not end with the law, as stigma continues to surround access to contraception and abortion services, and pregnant learners are often pushed to the margins of the education system undermining both their rights and futures.
Efforts to reduce adolescent pregnancy must address its root causes, including gender inequality, poverty, harmful social norms, and gender-based violence.
Greater investment is needed in Comprehensive Sexual Education, youth empowerment programmes, and accountability measures that strengthen prevention efforts while ensuring young people can exercise their rights and make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health.
Mashego is a candidate attorney and Brown is a legal researcher. Both work at SECTION27.
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