A 12-year-old rape survivor in South Africa bravely rejected abortion after her grandfather allegedly raped her in 2014.
Independent Media recently published the young girl’s story to raise awareness about violence committed against women and girls.
Nombuso (not her real name), of Diepkloof, Soweto in South Africa, faced the assault while she was in her grandfather’s care. According to the report, her father had abandoned them and her mother, Busisiwe, was in the hospital recovering from a vehicle accident.
Busisiwe said she returned home from the hospital to discover that her daughter was eight months pregnant.
“My daughter is skinny and when her tummy started showing, she was already eight months’ pregnant. I remember the day when I found out,” Busisiwe remembered. “She was dishing up food on a Sunday and I saw her big tummy. I asked if she was pregnant and she said yes.
“I asked who had impregnated her and she said it was her grandfather. She said he had slept with her on several occasions,” she continued.
The grandfather was arrested and remains in jail on sexual assault charges, according to the report. He is scheduled to appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court next month.
Busisiwe and her daughter chose life for the baby, a boy; he was born on July 16, 2015. He brings joy to both of their lives.
“I love him. He does not know anything (about his mother’s rape) and he is a gift and a blessing from God,” she said.
Here’s more from the report:
Reflecting on the time she made the decision to keep her now 2-year-old grandson, Busisiwe said it was not a difficult one.
“After she revealed that her grandfather raped her, I took her to the clinic to ensure that she and the baby were perfectly fine. I then reported the matter to the police.
“Doctors asked what I wanted to do with the baby. I told them I wanted my child to keep it.
“My daughter understands what has happened to her and that her son was born of rape. We cannot change that. I have seen the way she looks at him. They have a special bond. Counselling also helped her accept her son,” Busisiwe said.
She said her grandson, who was currently living in a place of safety in the township, was an innocent participant.
Some day, Busisiwe said she will tell her grandson about how he was conceived, but right now, she just wants him to know that he is loved.
“When he is old enough to understand how he was conceived, I will involve social workers and psychologists so that we can tell him,” she continued. “… All I want him to know is that we love him and being born of rape does not change anything.”
A baby’s value does not depend on how he or she was conceived. Rape is an awful crime of violence committed against a woman or girl, but an abortion does not erase the violence or heal the pain. It just ends the life of a second victim of the crime.
Research by the Elliot Institute found that between 75 percent to 85 percent of pregnant rape victims do not have abortions. Of those who did, many felt pressured or coerced to abort their unborn babies. And in many cases, the women who had abortions felt victimized again by the invasive abortion.
For many like this South African family who do choose life, it is a decision that they never regret. Many have said that their child is a blessing, despite the horrifying circumstances in which they were conceived.
