Assam model helps slash child marriage by 81%: Report

Assam's legal strategy slashes child marriages by 81%, setting a model for the country to follow.

GUWAHATI

The Assam government’s emphasis on legal intervention in child marriage cases is now a proven model for the rest of the country to follow, a report released on World Day for International Justice on July 17 said.

The report titled ‘Towards Justice: Ending Child Marriage’ by India Child Protection (ICP) said Assam’s legal strategy helped slash child marriages in the State by 81% across 20 districts between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 fiscals.

Established in 2005, the ICP is a child rights protection organisation focusing on combatting child sexual abuse and related crimes, including child trafficking, exploitation of children in the digital space, and child marriage.

The report said the Assam model was effective in ending child marriages in 30% of villages and leading to a decline in such cases in 40% of villages across the 20 districts studied.

“Every minute, three girls get married in India. Yet in 2022, only three cases were registered every day. According to the Census 2011 data, 4,442 girls (below 18 years) were getting married every day. This translates into 185 girl children getting married every hour and three getting married every minute,” the report summarised.

At the current rate (92%) of pendency in the trial courts, India may take 19 years to clear the backlog of child marriage cases, the report said.