Child protection data reveals 33 pregnancies among girls living in SA state care between mid-2021 and mid-2024

Pregnancies among girls in the care of the state have doubled in the past two years, new figures reveal.

A 14-year-old is among 33 girls who have fallen pregnant in the past three financial years while under the care of the state, The Advertiser can reveal.

The number of reported cases almost doubled from seven in 2022-23 to 13 last financial year.

Among those 20 girls it is understood 12 were aged 15 or 16 – below the age of consent for sexual activity in South Australia – and seven were 17 or older.

The ages of another 13 girls, who were all pregnant in 2021-22, have not been provided.

Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard, who released the new figures exclusively to The Advertiser, said she was notified about each case since becoming minister in March 2022.

A 14-year old is among the 33 girls who have fallen pregnant in the past three financial years while under the care of the state. (Pic: iStock)

At that time she made changes to reporting procedures “to make sure this data was recorded and that I am regularly notified of pregnancies”.

It followed outrage over revelations that her predecessor, Rachel Sanderson, didn’t know about the cases involving pregnant 13-year-old girls in state care, which were made public via court cases.

In September 2020 Matthew James McIntyre was jailed for two years for abusing and impregnating a girl he groomed on a dating app.

In December 2020 Philip Edwin McIntosh was sentenced to more than six years in prison for maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a girl who was already pregnant when they met in a nightclub.

The cases prompted a review by former District Court Judge Paul Rice which found the department’s reporting procedures at the time were “a mess” and did not specifically address pregnancies.

Since then details on the number of cases have been released publicly ad hoc, and only following questioning.

Opposition MP Laura Henderson lodged a Freedom of Information request about the issue in July, but had to launch an internal review before any details were released.

Ms Henderson criticised the “lack of transparency” and said the government could not “pick and choose when they want to release information”.

She described the number of pregnancies in care as “harrowing” and evidence of “inadequate protection of children in the department’s care”.

In February last year former DCP boss Cathy Taylor told a parliamentary inquiry that up to four girls in state care were pregnant at that time.

In July figures provided to a parliamentary committee revealed two pregnancies in 2022 were the result of sexual offences against children in state care.

According to Preventive Health SA the rate of teenage pregnancy in the general population is about 14 among every 1000 girls aged 15 to 19.

SA Health estimates the rate among young people in care 15 per 1000.

There are more than 4800 children in care in SA, including 720 in state-run homes with paid staff and 60 teens in independent living.

Ms Hildyard said many were “grappling with multiple, complex and deep-seated issues” related to “significant trauma and neglect they have experienced from a very young age”.

“These young people are remarkably strong despite all that they have experienced and, with the right supports, they have the best chance to thrive in every aspect of life, including parenting.”

Originally published as Child protection data reveals 33 pregnancies among girls living in SA state care between mid-2021 and mid-2024