Eliminating child marriage: The Supreme Court's landmark judgment is a validation of PICKET strategy

My debut book, When Children Have Children, presents the PICKET strategy, a guide on what various stakeholders can do to reach the tipping point to end child marriage in India by 2030.

The strategy requires that the government, community, civil society organisations and minor girls vulnerable to child marriage work together on Prevention, Investments, Convergence, Knowledge, Education and Technology.

The strategy underlines the priority and urgency required to catalyse the elimination of child marriage in the country and proposes what is required to be done at scale.

More than 200 NGOs, part of Child Marriage Free India campaign, adopted the PICKET strategy to prevent 1,20,000 plus child marriages in India in 2023-24 and created over 50,000 child marriage free villages.

Over 11 lakh at-risk girls were identified and saved from child marriage through this strategy.

In its directions to the government of India to combat child marriage, the Supreme Court of India, on October 18, 2024, reinforced components of the PICKETs strategy.?

• P of PICKET stands for Prevention, and underlines enforcement of existing laws and policies to prevent child marriage. The Supreme Court’s directions to combat child marriage mandates law enforcement by affixing accountability of Child Marriage Protection Officers, establishment of a specialised police unit, special child marriage prohibition unit and empowering magistrates to take suo moto action and issue preventive injunctions.
• Regarding Investment in infrastructure, incentivisation and institutions, the I of PICKET, the Apex Court directed the government to implement comprehensive educational incentive programs targeted at girls at risk of child marriage. “Offering stipends or financial support for families with daughters who remain in school beyond the age of fifteen, as a tangible incentive for delaying marriage,” the Court noted.
• ?The Supreme Court has reinforced the significance of Convergence, the C of PICKET, by directing that the Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs shall designate an appropriate authority who shall ensure the convergence of services across various government departments and agencies to create a cohesive support system for vulnerable and at-risk communities. This includes regular inter-departmental meetings to coordinate efforts and resources among education, health, social welfare, and law enforcement sectors to address the multifaceted nature of child marriage and establishing community-based resource centres that provide information and support related to education, legal rights, and social services to families at the risk of child marriage.
• “It is imperative that there is widespread awareness and education about child marriage and the legal consequences of its commission,” directed the court. “Special Child Marriage Prohibition Unit should be created to share best practices, dispense knowledge and collectivise and redress grievances,” added the Court, thereby, reiterating the importance of Knowledge-building, the K of PICKET.
• Aligned with Education”, the E in PICKET, the Court has directed that school curricula should include the impacts of child marriage on physical and mental well-being. Giving directions on individual care plans for at-risk girls, the Court directed immediate access to educational resources tailored to the child's needs and monthly monitoring by Child Welfare Officers/District Child Protection Unit for the first year post-intervention to ensure successful reintegration into education and community life.
• Underlining the use of Technology-driven initiatives for reporting child marriage, the T of PICKET, the Apex Court has mandated the creation of a centralised reporting portal, leveraging technology for support services and technology-driven monitoring of attendance.

This landmark judgement will be a shot in the arm in institutional resolve, marking a significant victory in our mission to completely eradicate child marriage.

The Supreme Court and the government’s efforts have shown that they care for our children and it’s time for the rest of us to step up and stop this social crime.