UMZIMKHULU PLAGUED BY HIGH LEVELS OF CHILD MARRIAGES, GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE

The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) says it has found that the rural area of Umzimkhulu in Kwazulu-Natal is plagued high levels of child marriages, gender-based violence, child abuse, and neglect amongst other social ills. The Commission's KZN provincial manager, Zanele Ncwane, says the commission has been working with the community of Umzimkhulu since 2019 after a non-profit organization (NGO) alerted it to the case of a 15-year-old who was married off to an older man. Meanwhile, Stats SA has also revealed that South Africa recorded 207 child marriages in 2021, of which 188 were brides and 19 were grooms. Statistics South Africa revealed this to the African Union special rapporteur who is currently in the country to monitor and evaluate progress on how South Africa is performing in its campaign to end child marriages. For more on this we spoke to KZN's provincial head for Commission for Gender Equality manager Zanele Ncwane