Mission Suraksha, a sureshot cure for child marriages in Shivamogga

The implementation of Mission Suraksha, the first of its kind in the state, has prevented 54 child marriages since its inception in July last
year.

It has also encouraged children below the age of 18 to boldly share instances of sexual assault and violence, including abuse by their own family members, with the police.

The district administration and the zilla panchayat took the initiative to rid the district of child marriages and POCSO cases. The initial results have been encouraging and, following this, the programme is being implemented in Chikkamagaluru and Kalburgi, sources in the Directorate of Child Protection confirmed.

Sources in the child protection unit said Shivamogga ranked second in the state in child marriages in 2024 and third in POCSO cases. This prompted then Deputy Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde and incumbent Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Hemanth to chalk out a scheme to prevent these social evils.

Accordingly, Mission Suraksha was implemented separately in urban and rural areas.

Vigilance committees were formed at every gram panchayat (GP) level in rural areas and at the ward level in urban areas. In rural areas, the GP president, women GP members, ASHA and anganwadi workers, teachers, primary health centre doctors, schoolgirls and NGO representatives are members of the committees. Each member is made in charge of four to five girls aged between 0 and 18 years. If girls do not attend classes, members visit their homes to find out the reasons.

In urban areas, the president of the urban local body heads the committee. Women ULB members, the circle police inspector, teachers, students, the child development project officer, two nominated NGO members, and officials from the labour and social welfare departments are part of it.

District Child Protection Officer Manjunath R said earlier the committees met once in three months, but meetings are now being held every month. Details of girls in each GP, including those with single parents, migratory children and those vulnerable to sexual violence, will soon be uploaded on the Mission Suraksha website, which will be accessible only to concerned officials. He said that most victims of child marriage cases are school dropouts and have single parent.

As many as 38 child marriages were reported in the last seven months and were treated as POCSO cases, as the girls had eloped with boys. Manjunath said while child marriages could be prevented, POCSO cases were harder to avoid as underage girls often elope to cities and return after a few months. In most cases, the girls state that they married the boys and had sexual intercourse. Such cases are higher among school dropouts. Unlike earlier, POCSO cases are now being reported more frequently.

District Child Welfare Committee chairman Tajuddin Khan said teachers are educating students about Mission Suraksha in schools.

Halima, Project Director, Directorate of Child Protection, told DH that Shivamogga was the first district in the state to implement Mission Suraksha, followed by Chikkamagaluru and Kalburgi. She said the state has over one lakh child prohibition officers, making it impractical to prevent child marriages without community support. Hence, the Shivamogga district administration involved elected representatives and staff from all departments and made them responsible for children in their respective regions. Collective efforts are essential to contain child marriages, she said.