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Breaking the Cycle: Why the National Consultative Indaba on Adolescent Pregnancy Matters

Our Clinical Director, Dr Shaheda Omar, took her place on a national stage that few people ever get to see up close: the National Consultative Indaba on Adolescent Pregnancy. Surrounded by young people, government officials, civil-society leaders, and fellow experts, she spoke not just as a clinician, but as someone who has sat across from ten-year-old mothers and listened to stories no child should ever have to tell. Because that is the brutal reality we face in South Africa. Every year, more than 100 000 girls between the ages of 10 and 19 fall pregnant. Behind many of those numbers lie rape, statutory rape, incest, coercion, and exploitation. These are not “teenage mistakes”; they are crimes against children. And the consequences ripple through generations: school dropout, stigma, poverty, trauma, and babies raising babies. At The Teddy Bear Foundation, we see the human faces behind the statistics every single day. Some of the youngest mothers we support are barely out of primary school. When they walk through our doors, often terrified and ashamed, we offer forensic medical examinations, trauma-focused therapy, play therapy, parenting support, court preparation, and, when needed, safe termination of pregnancy counselling; everything required to help them heal and to ensure perpetrators are held accountable.
But healing one child at a time, while vital, is not enough.
Real change demands a national response. That is why gatherings like the National Indaba are so critically important. They force us to stop treating adolescent pregnancy as a “health issue” or a girl “got herself into” and to start seeing it for what it often is: a child-protection emergency. The Indaba brought together the very voices that are usually silenced:
  • Young people who courageously shared their lived experiences through spoken word, music, and dance
  • Policymakers who can change laws and budgets and school policies
  • Communities and faith leaders who shape attitudes on the ground
  • Organizations like ours who deal with the fallout every day

When these worlds collide in one room, solutions start to feel possible: comprehensive sexuality education that actually works, accessible sexual and reproductive health services, stronger enforcement of statutory rape laws, programmes that keep pregnant learners in school, and community campaigns that shift the shame from the child to the perpetrator. Dr Shaheda used her platform to remind everyone that every pregnant child is, first and foremost, a child who deserves protection, justice, and a future.

She advocated for faster forensic backlogs, better inter-sectoral collaboration, and, above all, for adults to start believing children when they disclose abuse. We left the Indaba exhausted but hopeful. Hopeful because the youth present refused to be token participants; they owned that space with fire, creativity, and clarity. Hopeful because government representatives listened; really listened. Hopeful because we know that when voices like Dr Shaheda’s are amplified, change follows. But hope is not a strategy. So this is our pledge, and our call to every South African reading this:
  • Believe children when they say they have been harmed.
  • Report abuse. (Call the Teddy Bear Clinic 24-hour line on 011 484 4577 if you suspect a child is in danger.)
  • Challenge the idea that teenage pregnancy is “just how things are”.
  • Support organisations working on the front lines.
  • Demand that your school, your church, your workplace speaks openly about consent, power, and protection.

To every young person who performed, spoke, or simply showed up at the Indaba: thank you. Your courage lit a fire that will not be extinguished. To Dr Shaheda Omar: thank you for carrying the stories of the children who cannot yet speak for themselves. And to every pregnant child reading this: you are not alone, you are not to blame, and we will keep fighting until no child in South Africa ever has to become a mother before she’s had the chance to be a little girl. Together, let’s break the silence. Together, let’s break the cycle. With unwavering commitment!

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