Shiselweni – The Royal Eswatini Police Service’s Shiselweni Region Community Safety and Domestic Violence and Child Protection Units, working together with Kuyenteka Shiselo, held a campaign against teenage pregnancy in the Ngudzeni constituency on Wednesday.
The event began with a march led by the REPS band and was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Thuli Dladla and Ngudzeni Member of Parliament Charles Ndlovu.
The campaign targeted young girls, particularly those of school-going age, who are often vulnerable to sexual violence, grooming and peer pressure that can result in teenage pregnancy. Speakers at the event called on young girls to practise good behaviour and abstain from sexual and intimate relationships before coming of age.
Girls were also urged to report sexual abuse to the authorities so that perpetrators can be brought to book, and were encouraged not to live in fear or under threat when seeking help.
Speakers further called on parents to be fully present and involved in raising their children, warning that young people tend to be misled when they lack proper guidance at home.
Deputy Prime Minister Thuli Dladla called upon parents to play an active role in parenting their children, both boys and girls, by instilling respect and proper behaviour, saying children are the future of Eswatini. She expressed concern over the number of teenage pregnancies that have been recorded in the Ngudzeni constituency.
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