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New Indian Express
4 days ago
- New Indian Express
Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar: Social media a reason for rising teen pregnancies in Karnataka
BENGALURU: Karnataka Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar on Wednesday blamed social media for increasing number of teenage pregnancies in the state. Replying to a question in the Assembly, she said in the last three years, the state has reported 1,799 underage pregnancies, and one of the reasons is social media. In all, 405 cases were reported in 2022-23, 709 in 2023-24 and 685 in 2024-25. The increase is because of children's excessive use of social media and their tendency to fall in love at a tender age. Changing family dynamics and child marriages too are to be blamed, she said. JDS MLA Suresh Babu demanded that the state government have some control over social media. 'Many a time, unsavoury advertisements pop up while children are using social media. Children should be provided proper sex education,' he said. When he said over 26,000 minor girls have become pregnant in the last 10 months, Hebbalkar said the number looks alarming, but she did not know whether it is correct. But the MLA said many cases go unreported. He alleged that in the last four months, over 900 girls have been raped. Women's safety: Akka Pade from Aug 15 Vasudeva Sharma NV, Executive Director, Child Rights Trust, agreed that social media is one of the main reasons for increasing teen pregnancies. He said the internet has penetrated every village and regulating the use of social media is challenging. Some suicides too are linked to the use of social media, he said. He said there is something called self-generated porn, where a boy or man would ask a girl to send her nude photos which he might leak to his friends. The girl would then be blackmailed into giving sexual favours. This horrific trend is not limited to urban areas, but also rural parts. 'Young girls should be provided life skills training that includes safe use of the internet,'' he added. Meanwhle, Laxmi Hebbalkar said to ensure women's safety, the government will launch Akka Pade (Akka task force) in major cities where a vehicle with women police will patrol near colleges, markets and other places. From August 15, these Pades will be started in Mysuru, Belagavi and Mangaluru. The vehicle will have women police officials and NCC cadets.
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- New Indian Express
Karnataka saw 2,544 POCSO cases this year, as per Home Minister's data
UDUPI: There's still a long way to go for the state when it comes to combatting sexual offences against minors. As per official data, 1,104 cases were registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act across Karnataka in just three months -- April, May and June. Between January and July this year, the total number of cases stood at 2,544, raising concern over sexual assaults against children under the age of 18. The data was presented by Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara during the ongoing Monsoon session on Tuesday. As per details given by the home minister, Bengaluru city reported the highest number of POCSO cases between January and July this year, with 319 cases, followed by Shivamogga (131), Tumakuru (114), Chikkaballapur (113), Belagavi (100), Chitradurga (100) and Mysuru (99). Udupi district recorded 30 such cases. The data shows that Karnataka registered 3,902 POCSO cases in 2023 and 4,064 in 2024. As of July this year, 2,544 cases have been registered, of which judgments have been delivered in 1,927 cases. The remaining 1,556 cases remain under investigation. In 2023, judgments were pronounced in 3,882 of the 3,902 cases, with convictions in 126. In 2024, courts gave judgments in 4,026 of the 4,064 cases registered, with convictions in 36 cases. Dr Vasudeva Sharma N V, Executive Director, Child Rights Trust, said the rise in POCSO cases indicates a greater understanding of the issue and increased reporting to police. 'This can be attributed to the juvenile justice system and police actively supporting victims to file cases. The statistics also suggest perpetrators are not deterred by existing laws due to very few punishments, he said. Some cases drag on in courts for years . Such delays dampen the morale of the victims and their families. There is a need to expedite hearings and public prosecutors should insist on disposing of cases within one year as per the Act,' he urged.
