Lisa Isaacs
MOTHERS have been identified or suspected as perpetrators in nearly two-thirds of child homicides in South Africa, new research has shown.
The first national study by the Medical Research Council of SA and UCT, released this week, has declared the annual killing of hundreds of newborns and infants a “serious social and public health problem”.
The research, which studied medical and legal data from across the country in 2009, showed nearly two-thirds of children murdered were infants under one and more than half of the deaths were babies up to six days old.
About 85% of newborns had died after being abandoned and then discovered in rubbish, refuse dumps and public spaces.
Mothers were identified or suspected as perpetrators in 71% of homicides and in all of the neonaticides (killing a child within the first 28 days of life).
Researchers estimate the South African rates for neonaticide to be 19.6 for every 100 000 births and for infanticide (killing a child under one year) to be 27.7 for every 100 000 births. The study says the first six days of life are the period of highest risk for being killed, suggesting there is a particularly high rate of unwanted pregnancy.
“It points primarily to a failure of maternal and reproductive health services. Research among women who were denied abortions in Cape Town showed that, despite the law, there are numerous barriers that women encounter when seeking a legal abortion in the public sector.
“These include advanced gestational age and lack of trained staff for second trimester abortion,” the study says.
Wessel van den Berg, of Sonke Gender Justice, said the results of the study were not surprising given South Africa’s history of violence.
“When we see that some of these incidences are perpetrated by mothers, it’s because it’s mostly mothers who are present and fathers absent. We need to get fathers involved in conversations about baby care.
“We need policies and services that support fathers involved in the lives of their infants. Intervention is critical at all levels, including reproductive services.”