'Economic crisis driving vulnerable youth into exploitive relationships': shelter movement
NSMSA national co-ordinator Anisa Moosa said the biggest concern about these relationships is their contribution to gender-based violence.
'The dependency of a young girl on a grown man is dangerous, not only for her physical wellbeing but psychologically too,' Moosa said.
According to research findings of clinical psychologist Sibongile Sibanyoni, 82.8% of young African women in impoverished areas are engaging in sexual relationships with older men, and there is already evidence of a psychological impact on some of them.
She presented the findings of her study in a webinar hosted by the NSMSA in May.
Her study uncovered that there was a common thread of early relationships with absent or unreliable caregivers which influenced an individual's ability to form and maintain emotional bonds in adulthood. The lack of financial dependability on caregivers caused the young women to develop a dependency and need for security.
'SA's unemployment rate has steadily increased in the last 10 years, from 25.5% in 2015 to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2025. The unemployment rate has deepened the level of poverty and almost half of the country's population lives below the poverty line,' she said.
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