17 Sep 2024

The rising number of teenage pregnancies around the country is a major concern that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Matshelagabedi Police Station Commander, Superintendent Oteng Ngada made the call during the Dreams Walk Against Teenage Pregnancy event in Matshelagabedi on Saturday.

Mr Ngada said teenage pregnancy did not only affect teenagers, but families of such young people also had a part to play in raising the new born.

Mr Ngada partly blamed teenage pregnancy on parents who had a tendency to leave children unsupervised to go to cattleposts, which he said exposed them to 'predators'.

Mr Ngada said the practice of leaving children unattended sometimes forced children to take up the role of parenting younger siblings at a tender age.

He said the anomaly may give the older children a wrong impression that they were mature enough to even be involved in sexual relationships, which rendered them susceptible to pregnancy. 

He urged parents to take full responsibility of their children and protect them from abuse rather than exposing them to 'predators'.

He also urged parents to report any form of sexual abuse as soon as it was discovered so that children could get proper assistance on time.

Mr Ngada decried that some parents were bribed into harbouring perpetrators of sexual abuse.

He added that drug abuse was a concern as teenagers use older men to finance their addictions, thus renderimg them susceptible to falling victims of sexual abuse.

For his part, Mr Billy Mabote, a Matshelagabedi resident, also urged men to desist from having sexual relations with young girls, saying such a practice destroyed their future.

He added that teenagers should not be denied the right to education by being turned into parents at a young age.

“Children should be given the chance to focus on their school work without any destraction from men who want to ruin their future”, said Mr Mabote.

He also noted that teenagers depended on parents to assist them in making sound decisions and not to take advantage of them by using them for sexual satisfaction.

Mr Mabote said teenagers’ lives should not be cut short by men who chose not to control their lust.

He urged parents to refrain from using children for financial gains to maintain their lifestyles, which he said made it difficult for them to rebuke such children when they went astray.

Mr Mabote said if not checked, the love for money would lead to more girls turning into mothers prematurely.

For her part, North East District AIDS coordinator Ms Chipo Manyiwa said that 12 teenagers in Matshelagabedi fell pregnant this year, a significant increase from eight last year.

She said teenagers should be taught about the dangers of teenage pregnancy to help them make meaningful decisions. Ends