12 hours ago
RTI reply flags rise in teen pregnancies in Madurai PHCs
Madurai: As many as 1,127 teen pregnancies below 18 years of age were recorded in 2023 and 2024 in primary health centres (PHCs) in Madurai district, according to the latest response received by a health activist to a Right to Information (RTI) Act petition.
The reply received by activist A Veronica Mary said 698 teen pregnancies were recorded last year alone.
It showed that the most teen pregnancies during the period of query were reported in Saptur, T Pudupatti, and Viradhanur. "Any teen pregnancy under 18 years of age by default is a crime, be it through child marriage, sexual assault, or love affair. While some cases are being reported through the childline 1098, it is also the duty of the health department staff to report all such cases," she said.
She said some teen pregnancies (below 18 years of age) are going unreported to police and other departments due to ambiguous claims by parents about the child's age.
This should be looked into.
Health officials maintained that in case of minors, all teen pregnancy cases are reported by doctors to police and social welfare department, as per protocol. Activists have called for a comprehensive plan to create awareness among teen girls and boys and better surveillance to bring down the numbers.
K Saravanan, president, Peace Club, who has organised awareness programmes about child sexual abuse, said teen pregnancies are part of a larger issue of parental negligence. "Teen pregnancies are more prevalent in communities and areas where parents are poor economically and are often absent in their children's lives. Even if they are present, some of them may be abusive towards their spouses. Hence, children isolate themselves and engage in love affairs for attention without knowing the consequences," he said.
He said teachers can play a positive role in the lives of such children and watch out for signs and get them help.
P Premalatha, chairperson, child welfare committee (CWC), Madurai, urged the public to come forward to alert and report if they know of any case of child marriage or child abuse. "In case of a minor being pregnant, we counsel the child and parents and support them in getting abortion if possible or have the child born and surrendered. Safety and security is important for the teen in such a stressful situation," she said.
