According to a report compiled by the child rights organisation India Child Protection, the Assam Government’s legal intervention has resulted in an 81 per cent decrease in child marriages in the state. The study, unveiled in New Delhi on July 17, showed an astounding 81 per cent decrease in child marriage cases in 20 districts of Assam between 2021–2022 and 2023–2024. On the occasion of the World Day for International Justice, the survivors of child marriage presented the report titled “Towards Justice: Ending Child Marriage” to chairperson Priyank Kanoongo of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and child rights activist and founder of Child Marriage Free India (CMFI), Bhuwan Ribhu.
According to the NCPCR Chairperson, the nation has been shown the way forward by the Assam model for ending child marriages. The report’s data, gathered from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and 1,132 villages spread across 20 districts in Assam, with a combined population of 21 lakhs and 8 lakh children, unequivocally demonstrates that the state has seen the complete eradication of child marriage in 30 per cent of its villages. In contrast, 40 per cent have reported a significant decline in the once-rampant practice of child marriage. This is due to the Assam Government’s crackdown on child marriages.
Additionally, the research notes, “In 12 out of the 20 districts, over 90 per cent of respondents believe that pursuing legal action, such as making arrests and filing First Information Reports (FIRs) in cases related to child marriage, can effectively address the occurrence of such cases.” India Child Protection is a prominent child rights advocacy group committed to preventing child trafficking, child marriage, and other crimes involving child exploitation online and sexual abuse of minors. Assam has demonstrated that the most effective public awareness campaign to discourage child marriage is also one that involves legal action.
Bhuwan Ribhu stated, “This message needs to go from Assam and spread across India at scale to create a child marriage-free India. Currently, 98 per cent of people in Assam believe that prosecution is the key to ending child marriage.” Two of the report’s main recommendations are to establish fast-track courts to reduce the backlog and, for parents, guardians, or panchayats who have given an undertaking, to double the penalties and treat it as if it were a criminal conspiracy for rape.
The findings also demonstrated how urgently child marriage must be outlawed nationwide in the legal system. Only 181 of the 3,563 child marriage cases scheduled for trial in 2022 were successfully resolved, indicating a 92 per cent pendency rate. According to the research, given the present rate of trial completion, the nation may need 19 years to clear the backlog of 3,365 cases.
