Helplines get over 1,200 child marriage plaints in two months

Shreyas HS | Jul 17, 2020, 04:45 IST

Worrisome: Children, particularly in rural areas, are becoming increasing vulnerable to socio-cultural evils as they are kept away from schools

Worrisome: Children, particularly in rural areas, are becoming increasing vulnerable to socio-cultural evils a...Read More

Raichur: A child helpline worker in the economically backward Raichur district has received 100 calls informing about child marriages in the last two months. A similar trend of receiving increased number of calls is witnessed across the state, especially in backward districts amid Covid-19 crisis.
“Since April, we have received over 50 calls every month, which otherwise was 20-30. Due to the lack of surveillance, many cases go underreported,” said three officials working at Child Protection Unit (CPU) in Raichur, Yadgir and Kalaburagi.
According to the data given by the department of women and child development (DWCD), helplines across Karnataka received over 1,200 complaints in just April and May. However, the department did provide details on the percentage of increase against pre-Covid days. DWCD director K A Dayananda said helplines across the state received 1,250 complaints of child marriage on phone.
According to another data, the department thwarted 55 marriages in March, even as five marriages happened. In April, 122 marriages were stopped and 11 marriages happened. In both the cases, the “married children” have been rescued. Shockingly, there was a sudden surge in May with 542 marriages being stopped and 37 being held. In Ballari alone, 107 marriages were averted in May.
Children, particularly in rural areas, are becoming increasing vulnerable to socio-cultural evils as they are kept away from schools. An official said schools protect children from becoming prey for illegal cultural practices. Even Anganwadi workers keep a constant tab in their localities about the same. However, the pandemic has now shifted their focus to health-related tasks. “The current numbers are not that high. But the situation would become worse, if the state does not raise vigilance like earlier.”
Abhay, a woman and child rights activist who had campaigned in Hyderabad-Karnataka region against child marriages for eight years, said poor surveillance would worsen the situation in the coming days.