Rape‚ alcohol and blessers to blame for Ratlou’s 3000 young mothers
A 12-year-old mother is youngest of the “more than 3000 girls‚ under the age of 18‚ in Ratlou who are either pregnant or have already delivered their babies”. That’s according to the Democratic Alliance in the North West‚ which said it is “deeply concerned that it is alleged that some of the girls have been raped‚ sexually assaulted and in some cases alcohol might have been used by older men to seduce the girls”. “Some have been the victims of the popular blesser-blessee phenomenon‚” added the party’s Dr Tutu Faleni.“Whilst the DA welcomes the announcement of an investigation by the Department for Social Development‚ we are disappointed that this social problem had to escalate to such an extent‚” he said.Faleni urged the announcement of “a comprehensive interdepartmental strategy aimed at addressing this problem”‚ which should also involve the education as well as safety and security authorities “in order to get a holistic approach to ensure these girls can still get an education or be assisted if they were victims of a sexual crime”.Faleni said Ratlou‚ a mainly rural community‚ “has nearly 100,000 residents and battles social challenges such as poverty‚ unemployment and crime”.– TMG Digital..
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