Empower the girl child: An integrated approach to making a difference in reducing adolescent pregnancy in South Africa
Rose Mmusi-Phetoe, Simanga Phillip Lukhele & LDM Lebeloane
Abstract
Adolescent pregnancy, which often occurs in impoverished environments such as rural areas, is one of the major public health concerns globally, including in South Africa. It is an issue that has received inadequate attention. This article aims to empower the girl child and female adolescents through an approach that informs choices and enables control over decisions affecting sexual and reproductive health. Such an approach should facilitate protection against the risk of adolescent pregnancy and, hopefully, contribute to reducing its incidence in South Africa. The empowerment theory served as the theoretical framework for the study. A qualitative research method was employed. Data were collected through a descriptive exploratory study design. A sample of ten (10) pregnant adolescents was purposefully recruited from a population of all pregnant adolescents attending an antenatal clinic at a public hospital in the North-West province on the day of data collection. Additional data were gathered from relevant documents related to the study. Data were analyzed and interpreted using Colaizzi’s seven steps of data analysis. The findings indicate that a lack of empowerment among female adolescents plays a major role in the occurrence of adolescent pregnancy in South Africa. This calls for integrated, multi-sectoral interventions to address the root causes of adolescent pregnancy.
Keywords
adolescent, empowerment, girl child, integrated approach, reduction of adolescent pregnancy theory
Author information & Contribution
Rose Mmusi-Phetoe. Department of Health Studies, University of South Africa, South Africa. Email: rosemmusiphetoe@gmail.com
Simanga Phillip Lukhele. Corresponding author. Department of Educational Leadership and Management, University of South Africa, South Africa. Email: 17269741@mylife.unisa.ac.za
LDM Lebeloane. Department of Science and Technology Education, University of South Africa, South Africa. Email: lebelldm@unisa.ac.za
"All authors equally contributed to the conception, design, preparation, data gathering and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
This work was not supported by any funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines set by University of South Africa. The conduct of this study has been approved and given relative clearance(s) by the University of South Africa.
AI Declaration
AI tools were not used in writing this paper.
Notes
Acknowledgement
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Cite this article:
Mmusi-Phetoe, R., Lukhele, S.P. & Lebeloane, L.D.M. (2025). Empower the girl child: An integrated approach to making a difference in reducing adolescent pregnancy in South Africa. International Review of Social Sciences Research, 5(3), 54-78. https://doi.org/10.53378/irssr.353235
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