In 2023, 28,000 adolescent pregnancies are reported in Karnataka; the CM forms a task committee
A “central task force” has been asked to be formed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in response to the concerning incidence of teenage pregnancies in Karnataka. The Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) site maintained by the Central government states that from January to November 2023, 28,657 incidents of underage females (those under the age of 18) becoming pregnant were recorded in the state.
Siddaramaiah took notice of this and on April 15, 2024, he sent a letter to seven departments: Home, Department of Tribal Welfare, Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, Primary and Secondary Education, Social Welfare, and Backward and Minority Welfare, telling them to stop these kinds of cases. He said that adding senior officials to the task group will help boost the confidence of these young ladies.
“There should be tight oversight of hostels”
He issued a warning to the authorities, suggesting that hostels be placed under rigorous CCTV supervision and that monthly check-ups be conducted to monitor the health of the girls. The task force personnel must also keep a watch on kids who have been missing for an extended period of time at the taluk and district levels.
“A large number of girls under the age of 18 are getting pregnant in the state,” the letter said. The causes of it include things like child marriage, societal injustices, poverty, cultural and regional variations, individual attitudes, sexual assaults, and a lack of sexual understanding. In order to “prevent such practices at the grassroots level and strictly implement the legal framework applicable to the crimes,” the CM said, several departments must collaborate.
Siddaramaiah said that a more straightforward process should be made accessible for reporting instances of adolescent pregnancies at private hospitals due to the many technological issues that beset the system. “Create a new centralised system to record compliance reports and information about the current incidences in the state to record correct facts and avoid pregnancies,” the letter’s instructions said.
Parents and kids must get sex education via the media in an easy-to-understand manner, under the supervision of vigilance committees. The letter said that it was crucial to “conduct awareness programs on self-defence measures, child marriages and evil social practices and create awareness about physical growth at the school level.”
The CM emphasized that physicians and pharmacy shop owners who sell Schedule-H medications, such abortion pills, without a prescription would face legal repercussions. Field-based NGOs and activists applauded CM’s action and expressed optimism for improved enforcement of the state’s child protection legislation.
