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Horrifying picture of heavily pregnant young girl has outraged entire South Africa — as country endures severe child maternity crisis

Nypost · · 1197 words · By News com au
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/11/world-news/in-plain-sight-nation-gripped-by-child-…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

30 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

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“In 2025 alone, more than 123,000 births were registered to mothers aged 19 and younger. AmongὍese, more than 4,000 were to girls aged 10-12.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
No relevant evidence found in Wikipedia entries or web search results that confirm or refute the specific birth statistics for 2025 in South Africa.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa was part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On 5 March 2020, Minis…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_South_Afr…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South Africa national football team represents South Africa in men's international football and is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. N…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_soccer_t…
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“The 2025 birth figures for South Africa are based on documented hospital deliveries, not estimates or projections.”
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No evidence found in Wikipedia entries or web search results confirming the methodology (documented hospital deliveries vs. estimates) for 2025 birth figures.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The economy of South Africa is the largest economy in Africa as of 2026. It is the continent's most industrialized, diversified and technologically advanced economy. South Africa is classified as an u…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_South_Africa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South Africa national football team represents South Africa in men's international football and is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. N…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_soccer_t…
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“South Africa ranks among the countries with the highest recorded rates of child and adolescent pregnancy globally.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in Wikipedia entries or web search results confirming South Africa's global ranking for adolescent pregnancy rates.
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“In late 2025, a TikTok trend in South Africa involved underage girls posting videos of themselves with babies they had given birth to.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
No evidence found in Wikipedia entries or web search results confirming a TikTok trend involving underage pregnancies in South Africa in late 2025.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — There are reports of TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin censoring political content related to China and other countries, as well as content from minority creators. TikTok has stated that its e…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_by_TikTok
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — While TikTok remains accessible to civilians in most countries and regions, a minority — including India, Iran, China (Foreign app; not Douyin), and Afghanistan — have imposed nationwide bans. In the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_TikTok
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — TikTok, known in mainland China, Macau, and Hong Kong as Douyin (Chinese: 抖音; pinyin: Dǒuyīn; lit. 'Shaking Sound'), is a social media and short-form online video platform. It hosts user-submitted vid…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TikTok
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“South Africa's Children's Act mandates statutory rape investigations for pregnancies involving children under 16, regardless of the age of consent (which is 12).”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in Wikipedia entries or web search results confirming the provisions of South Africa's Children's Act regarding statutory rape investigations for underage pregnancies.
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“In 2025, the Eastern Cape province of South Africa recorded 117 births to girls aged 10-12.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in Wikipedia entries or web search results confirming the specific birth numbers for girls aged 10-12 in the Eastern Cape province in 2025.
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“In 2025, the Gauteng province of South Africa recorded 531 births to girls aged 10-12.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in Wikipedia entries or web search results confirming the specific birth numbers for girls aged 10-12 in the Gauteng province in 2025.
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“In 2025, the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa recorded 438 births to girls aged 10-12 and 24,532 births to girls aged 15-19.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in Wikipedia entries or web search results confirming the specific birth numbers for girls aged 10-12 and 15-19 in the KwaZulu-Natal province in 2025.
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“Documented hospital birth records for underage pregnancies in South Africa rarely result in arrests or child protection interventions.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in Wikipedia entries or web search results confirming the frequency of arrests in cases of underage pregnancies in South Africa.
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“Women's rights activists in South Africa estimate that the actual number of underage pregnancies is higher than official records due to unreported cases like home births and miscarriages.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in Wikipedia entries or web search results confirming activist estimates of unreported adolescent pregnancies in South Africa.
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“South Africa's Sexual Offences Act mandates that statutory rape cases be reported to the police.”
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“In South Africa, families often avoid legal action in underage pregnancy cases due to social stigma or pressure to remain silent.”
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“Teenage pregnancy is a major cause of school dropout in impoverished provinces of South Africa.”
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“South African policies allow young mothers to return to school, but inconsistent implementation and stigma hinder this.”
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“South Africa's child pregnancy crisis is part of a larger epidemic of gender-based violence.”
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“Between March 2024 and March 2025, South Africa reported 5,578 murders of women and 7,239 attempted murders, averaging 11 women killed daily.”
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“From March 2024 to March 2025, South Africa reported 42,569 rapes and 7,418 sexual assaults, averaging 116 rapes and 20 sexual assaults daily.”
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“South Africa's reported rape and sexual assault figures are believed to represent only a fraction of actual cases due to underreporting.”
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“Children, particularly girls, constitute a significant proportion of sexual assault victims in South Africa, according to police data.”
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“Ahead of the 2025 G20 summit in Johannesburg, Women for Change organized protests in at least 15 South African cities, including Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.”
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“The Women for Change campaign encouraged participants to wear black, change profile pictures to purple, and participate in a 15-minute silent lie-down to protest gender-based violence in South Africa.”
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“The Women for Change campaign's petition against gender-based violence in South Africa garnered over a million signatures.”
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“The #JusticeForCwecwe campaign in South Africa emerged after the rape of a seven-year-old girl in the Eastern Cape in late 2024.”
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“Tshegofatso Pule was found stabbed and hanging from a tree while eight months pregnant in South Africa.”
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“Olorato Mongale was abducted and killed after a date in Johannesburg, South Africa.”
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“South African activists timed their gender-based violence protests with the 2025 G20 summit to highlight disparities between constitutional democracy and reality.”
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“South Africa's National Disaster Management Centre classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster following protests.”
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“South African MPs reaffirmed their commitment to combat gender-based violence after the Women for Change protests.”
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“South Africa's rates of sexual violence continue to rise, making it one of the countries with the highest rates globally.”
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“Child and adolescent pregnancy in South Africa is linked to systemic gender-based violence.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.