By Mapaballo Borotho
- The DA claims there is little appetite within SAPS to open and investigate child rape and statutory rape cases linked to child pregnancies.
- The party has lodged a complaint with the SAHRC, alleging systemic failures by government departments to report, investigate and prosecute these crimes.
- According to the DA, thousands of children have fallen pregnant, while many cases fail to reach court due to reporting failures and delays in forensic DNA processing.
There are growing concerns that there appears to be little appetite within the South African Police Service (SAPS) to open cases linked to child rape and statutory rape.
This is according to Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament Angel Khanyile, who was briefing the media in Parktown on Friday, 12 June 2026, after the DA filed a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) against several state departments.
The party alleges that departments such as SAPS, Social Development and Health are failing to report, investigate and prosecute suspected statutory rape cases linked to child pregnancies.
Khanyile said South Africans must ask where the country is losing these cases and statistics between the Departments of Health, Education and Social Development, as well as SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The DA’s dossier states that thousands of adolescents gave birth during the 2023/24 financial year, including 2,716 children between the ages of 10 and 14.
She said that, by law, sexual offences against children must be reported to the police, while suspected child abuse must also be reported through Form 22 in terms of the Children’s Act.
“These incidents are also concerning because sometimes you find parents who do not want to report the perpetrators because they are the breadwinners. But they also indicated that there’s little appetite from SAPS to open such cases,” she said.
Khanyile said the DA is trying to understand where these cases are being lost in the system, adding that not even 50% of such matters are ultimately prosecuted by the NPA.
She said it is painful and unfair that some children are left in the same homes and communities where alleged perpetrators continue to roam free.
“It’s very unfair to leave these kids in the same homes and communities where they are being violated while perpetrators are roaming our streets. There needs to be collaboration between various departments to ensure that these numbers are dealt with,” she added.
She said leaders and government institutions have a responsibility to protect children.
“Most of these rape cases do not even see their day in court because they do not get the DNA results. We are pushing for the forensic laboratories to ensure that they prioritise these cases because justice delayed is definitely justice denied.”
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