Commission conducting re-survey on underage pregnancies in Karnataka

Mangaluru: Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) Chairperson K Naganna Gowda stated that the Commission would conduct a re-survey, with members visiting each district, to ascertain the truth about the reported 49,000 underage pregnancies across the state in the past three years.

Gowda explained, "All six members of the commission, including me, will visit all 31 districts and interact with victims who became pregnant following sexual assault or marriage. Each member is being assigned four to five districts." The report on 49,000 underage pregnancies was submitted by the Health Department, with the majority of cases reported in Kalyana Karnataka. The resurvey report is likely to be ready by the end of the month, he added.

“The service of anganwadi workers, Asha workers, will be utilized along with DHO in each district to verify the report at PHC level,” Gowda told mediapersons at Patrika Bhavan on Tuesday. In some cases, victims had delivered babies at home. Pregnancy among underage girls will not only lead to discontinuation of education but also poses a threat to their health, he stressed.

The Commission will conduct counselling on the impact of underage pregnancies. Following the report on underage pregnancies, FIRs were registered against six to seven doctors in some districts. “In some cases, we have noticed the victim girl was a minor when she became pregnant. She is living happily with her husband after marriage. If a case is registered, the girl and her family will be shattered,” the Chairperson added.

Following the report on female foeticide, scanning centres have been locked, he said. Gowda said that the Commission had issued directions to schools and colleges to create awareness among SSLC, PU students on Pocso Act, the legal age of marriage, ill effects of drugs, and other laws related to children’s safety. Through the “Tereda Mane” programme, police personnel create awareness among the students, he said.

Suicide cases

About 240 students ended their lives by suicide for various reasons in the past year. He called upon colleges, schools, and parents not to exert pressure on children in their studies. "The Commission will write to the police to book a negligence case if a student ends his or her life by suicide in hostels, child care centres, and colleges. The negligence case will attract one to two years of imprisonment," Gowda informed.

“If departments of women and child development, social welfare, labour, and police work together, then the menaces of child labour and child marriage can be eradicated,” he said. "Children are being used for begging even in cities like Mangaluru," he stated, adding that he has sought a report on how many migrant labourers' children are engaged in the illegal act.