Cape Town - A black eye, bruises and even being locked up lead to more and more teenage girls being unable to attend school.
The scars, physical abuse and controlling measures the pupils suffer are the result of domestic violence.
Since the beginning of the year, Ilitha Labantu, a walk-in centre in Gugulethu, Cape Town, which advocates against the abuse of women and children, has seen a spike in the number of cases of domestic abuse and those involving people as young as 15.
Spokesman Siyabulela Monakali said this was a “scary” trend, with teenagers’ social development and education at stake.
Many often have to miss school because the abuser won’t allow them to go or because of their injuries.
“The biggest concern for teenage girls who are victims of domestic violence are the risk of being infected with HIV/Aids, or serious physical harm and death,” said Monakali.
Of the 114 cases of domestic abuse reported to the NGO between January and July, 45 involved teenage girls. Some had been abused by a parent or step-parent.
Monakali said financial security was one of the major reasons young victims gave for remaining in abusive relationships.
“A 16-year-old high school pupil who was asked by our social worker why she didn’t leave (her boyfriend) or end the abusive relationship, replied, ‘He has money and he provides for me when I need him.’”
Monakali said although poverty, unemployment and poor social conditions were not an “excuse” to abuse, they could be a contributing factor as they placed families under immense pressure.
In other cases, teen girls wanting to escape sexual abuse at home, opted to live with their boyfriends, who
abused them physically.
The centre’s senior social worker, Siphokazi Bona, says the situation is a “sorry state of affairs”.
Her latest case involves a 17-year-old girl, who is repeating Grade 11. The girl’s boyfriend, who is 21 and the father of her 12-month-old baby, “controls” her every move.
“He accompanies her to school and back and if she wants to take a taxi somewhere he must go with her. Many times she’s stayed out of school because of her bruises. When she and her mother moved to another area, he found her. When he got her alone one day, he wanted to sleep with her and when she refused, he stabbed her in her face,” said Bona.
The Saartjie Baartman Centre, for women aged 18 and older, has also seen a higher number of younger women seeking help.
“It is unfortunate that many of these young women find themselves in these abusive relationships because this is all they know.
“They have been raised in a household and community where domestic violence is the norm,” said Dorothea Gertse, centre shelter manager and social worker.
The organisations believe much more serious attention is needed from police, government and society to combat domestic abuse.
Monakali says communities are too “silent” about domestic violence. “Our silence sends a message that the abuse of women is acceptable. The eradication of violence against women is realisable, but only if we stand in unity.”
Weekend Argus