Childhoods stolen as underage pregnancies rise in Karnataka

Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar attributed this increase to changing family systems, usage of social media by children, increasing child marriages and POCSO cases, ‘more love affairs among teenagers’, and traditional practices.

“I had gone for a field visit to a village in Bagalkot district last year when I came across a girl who had a bump that clearly indicated that she was pregnant. Upon enquiry, I found out that this 15-year-old girl was engaged to a boy and was not married. When I said that she was pregnant, the villagers fought with me and said that she was not even married. When I sent her to the hospital, we got to know that she was four months pregnant, and the families of both sides were genuinely not aware of the situation,” said Tejaswini Hiremath, social scientist and former member of the District Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Bagalkot.

“In Bengaluru, a 13-year-old girl got pregnant and even delivered a baby. She had no awareness of what happened to her and did not even know the concept of pregnancy. When a case was registered, and she was asked to identify the man who did this to her, she showed an auto driver. But the DNA tests did not match. Later, she said she did not know who the man was. Ultimately, we could not catch the culprit in the case at all,” shared Anjali Ramanna, former CWC member and women and juvenile rights advocate.

These are just some of the disturbing cases as the lack of awareness around sex and contraceptives, sexual abuse, early engagements and marriages prompted by socio-economic situations and traditional beliefs have led to an increase in underage and child pregnancies (aged below 18 years) in Karnataka in the post-COVID-19 period.

According to data presented by Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar in the Legislative Assembly session in December, 252 cases of underage pregnancies were registered before the Child Welfare Committee in 2021–22, 405 cases in 2022–23, and 709 in 2023–24.

The Minister attributed this increase to changing family systems, usage of social media by children, increasing child marriages and POCSO cases, ‘more love affairs among teenagers’, and traditional practices.

Activists who work on the ground lauded the government for at least acknowledging that there are cases of underage pregnancies rather than denying them. However, they said what is reported is a very small number of cases while the reality paints a graver situation.

One of the main causes of underage pregnancies is child marriage, which is still prevalent despite efforts from both activists and government officials. Tejaswini recalled how, in the post-pandemic years, children who were in the age group of 9-12 years were increasingly getting married.