KRISHNAGIRI: The Childline has seen an 82% spike in calls reporting child marriages in the district during April 2020-March 2021, compared to the same period in 2019-2020, indicating a rise in the incidence of minor girls getting married off when the schools were closed because of the pandemic.
As per the data available with Childline, its helpline had received 327 calls reporting child marriages from April 2020 to March 2021, compared to 179 calls in 2019-2020. It has stopped 279 marriages during April 2020-March 2021 and 117 in 2019-2020.
C N Prasanna Kumari, Childline coordinator, Krishnagiri district, said lack of fear of punishment among the parents was the main reason for the child marriages.
According to a social welfare officer at the district collectorate, a team of officials would visit the child’s house and stop the marriage upon receiving information on impending marriage of a minor.
Subsequently, the child’s parents would be made to sign a statement that they would not marry off their daughter until she attains the legal age for the marriage. A police complaint would be filed only when the parents try again to marry off their daughter before she reaches the legal age, the officer said.
Prasanna Kumari, however, said as per the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, it was mandatory to file a police complaint once the child marriage was stopped. District child welfare committee chairperson G Kalaivani also confirmed that a first information report was mandatory in child marriage cases.
The district social welfare officers are the child marriage prohibition officers, who are authorised to register a police complaint.
Prasanna Kumari also suggested that the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and the district child protection unit (DCPU) should be given more power regarding child marriages, since they were dealing solely with the child issues. Presently, it is not mandatory to involve CWC and DCPU in all child marriage cases.
Kalaivani, chairperson, CWC, said, “When a CWC member or DCPU staff is involved in stopping a child marriage, they see whether the child needs care and protection. If she needs, they send her to the reception home, otherwise she will live with her family and CWC members will check on her regularly until the girl becomes a major. In cases in which CWC is not involved, officials sent the child to the committee only when the child needs care and protection.”
Prasanna Kumari said making it mandatory to involve CWC or DCPU in every child marriage cases, making them nodal authority to file a police complaint and making it compulsory to send the child to a reception home for a buffer period would help reduce child marriages.
Attempts to get a comment from the district social welfare officers failed to yield any results.
