A call has been made to report incidents of child abuse at home as well as in schools as there is an increase in young pregnancies.
This call was made by different agencies yesterday, when the campaign for the protection of children was launched at the Mangosuthu stadium in Dumbe, in the north of KwaZulu-Natal.
Mrs. Neliswa Cekiso, who is the director of the child protection unit at the Department of Community Development, said statistics show that there are more than 3,000 cases of child abuse from the first to the third quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year.
“We are concerned about the rape of children under the age of 16 by adults. We are also very concerned about children who sleep alone, under the age of 16. That is why it is important that we cooperate in fighting this scourge,” he said while speaking to Newsroom Afrika yesterday, at the launch of this campaign.
He said they are worried about children getting pregnant at a young age in this country as well as in the Zululand region.
According to the statistics of the National Child Protection Register, for the first quarter of the financial year 2025/2026 to the third, 8,984 cases of child abuse were reported.
Ms. Cekiso said that they have plans to educate parents to keep an eye on their children.
“Some parents are not able to quickly see if their children have been abused. That is why we have plans to sharpen them so that they can quickly look at this problem.”
Statistics from the Department of Justice revealed that there was an increase in child rape cases from 127 to 199 in the 2025/2026 financial year.
Mrs. Cekiso also complained about alcohol which she said contributes to the abuse of children.
“Those who are abused should report it to the Childline number 116 (free of charge). If there is someone who is being abused at home who is a mother, it can be reported to the number to combat abuse at the GBV center, which is: 0800 428 428. Those who report will be advised on what to do and will be referred to the appropriate agencies to help them.”
It will be remembered that teachers, principals, nurses, social workers, doctors as well as any person who works with children, are ordered to report if there is a child under 16 who is pregnant.
They were ordered to report to the police so that they can be investigated and those who impregnate these children can be arrested.