THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pooja P Nair, a Class VIII Student Police Cadet (SPC) of Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram, is busy preparing posters and leaflets that create awareness about child marriage and child trafficking in her panchayat. She is not alone in this. Over 60 students from the school’s SPC unit have come together for the global campaign titled ‘Zero tolerance to child marriage’ that aims to sensitise society against child marriage and child trafficking.
The campaign is being piloted in India and Ghana in Africa. In India, the campaign is being piloted in two schools in Kerala — Vithura school and M V Higher Secondary School, Ariyallur, Malappuram. “We are very excited as the campaign is being implemented in our school first. Social issues such as child marriage and child trafficking need to be addressed. As students, we have taken a vow to make the campaign a success,” said Pooja.
Reports claim that 82 child marriages were held during the lockdown period in the state. Under the three-month-long campaign implemented with the support of the Vithura grama panchayat, Vithura Janamaithri and child-friendly police, gender resource centre, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDs), District Child Protection Unit, Childline and others, the student police cadets will work towards decreasing vulnerability to child marriage and human trafficking.
Zero tolerance to child marriage is being implemented internationally with the support of Mission Better Tomorrow, a global platform for SPC, Our Responsibility to Children (ORC), The Bridge Institute — a global non-governmental organisation — and the Kalinga Fellowship programme that combats human trafficking.
According to Arunima R J, the coordinator of the programme, though child marriages are not registered officially from tribal settlements in Vithura, teenage pregnancies are being reported from there. “This implies that child marriage is rampant, and it is being swept under the carpet. The campaign aims to bring the police and community together to create an environment where the police, SPC unit and communities can work together to curb child marriages and trafficking in the region,” says Arunima.
A two-day orientation programme was held for the Vithura SPC school unit online and offline. Around 23 students, who form the core team, took part. The team came out with ideas to create short films, social media campaigns and distribute leaflets containing messages against child marriage and child trafficking.
An awareness handbook prepared by the student cadets that contains important helpline numbers will be released on Saturday. This handbook will be made available in all the schools, libraries and Community Development Societies (CDS) in the district. A 30-member cycle brigade team has also been to make visits to the tribal settlements at Vithura and spread awareness and ensure community support. The bicycle brigade will be led by Vithura Station House Officer S Sreejith.
Apart from this, the Kuttipallikoodams will be set up in schools at five tribal settlements in the Vithura panchayat to act as a hub for campaigns and awareness programmes led by students. “It is important to create awareness among men of tribal settlements too. ‘Kolaya Varthamaanam’, a door-to-door awareness and vulnerability mapping campaign will be done for this,” said community police officer K Anver. Another community officer Priya Nair is also part of the campaign.