Parents will be held responsible for child marriages: child rights panel member

State Child Rights Protection Commission member Dr Vanitha Thorvi said that parents will be held responsible and sued if child marriages are arranged.

Speaking at a training workshop on Pocso Act organised by district administration and Zilla Panchayat, Thorvi said the punishment would be one year of rigorous imprisonment for parents. She added that although there are few incidents reported in the district, there are some cases registered in the centre. Children gram sabhas should be held at gram panchayat-level.

There is urgent need to create awareness on the Pocso Act. Measures should be taken to curtail cases of sexual assault and violence against children. It is essential that doctors, police and teachers are well aware of the rights of children and laws available to protect the rights of children, she explained.

Speaking after inaugurating the workshop, District In-charge Minister Pramod Madhwaraj said that the state government is offering a special gift in the form of ‘Bhagyalakshmi Bond,’ referring to the Australian government schemes ensuring five lakh dollars for a newborn child. India has the largest resources of children. The society and the country both equally share the responsibilities of protecting the children, who are assets of not only the country, but of the entire world, the minister reminded.

He stressed that the atrocities against children in and out of house should be countered and eliminated. Creating awareness in society is the only way to protect children. Parents should not hide cases of violence against their children for fear of police and court. Ignorance of law should not be an excuse in case of violence against children.

Maintaining that there is a need to strictly implement the laws, the minister said that laws should not be limited to books, but should be effectively implemented. He urged for zero tolerance against the violence against children. The culprits should be sternly punished. The laws should be effectively brought into action and the concerning department should be strongly punishing the offenders, he reiterated.