In an attempt to enable Devadasi communities to gain information on Indian child protection laws, a training programme for para-legal volunteers was organised by Children of India’s GOOD project at Vijayapura and Belagavi district in Karnataka. The training was held on the 10th, 17th and 24th December of 2021 for a total of 164 volunteers. The...

Though the Devadasi practice was outlawed nearly one hundred years ago, in 1924, it continues to exist in certain parts of the country due to continuous underreporting and its underground nature. The Devadasi system is the “offering” of girl children, after which they become sex workers.  The Devadasi Security Act of 1934 makes this practice...

Child marriage in India is a major societal issue that continues to persist. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, many children have been out of school and their families have been left in precarious financial situations. This leaves children, especially young girls, vulnerable to being married off and not allowed to continue their education. This kind...

Prostitution in temples, such as the Devadasis cult, has occurred in India since the country’s inception.  This occupation degraded into temple prostitution in the present times. This practice is illegal in India under the Devadasi Security Act of 1934. This prohibition was reinforced in the 1980s, although the law is still violated on a daily basis....

1.5 Million. 1.5 million girls in India (according to UNICEF) under the age of 18 are made to get married, which unfortunately makes India home to the largest number of child brides. It’s an evil practice that must be put to a stop. We at CIF work to stop practices such as this that are...

On November 1, 2021, Child Marriage Prohibition Day was observed in the Bagalkote, Chikkaballapura, and Chamarajanagara districts under the IMAGE Next project. The rally, as well as other extracurricular events, were held to raise awareness and raise voices against child marriage. Officials from the government were honored and invited as special guests to the event....

Outcome Harvesting is a project assessment and mapping approach that brings real and tangible change between children, the community, government officials, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).  On October 21st and 22nd, one such process was carried out for our project, IMAGE which focuses on the empowerment of child marriage victims across 15 districts of Karnataka. ...

During the pandemic, reaching out to the poor and affected people has been difficult, especially owing to COVID 19 restrictions.  Children of India Foundation’s Children GOOD project planned an awareness programme in the Vijayapura district on August 27, 2021, to help with this process. The programme’s major goal was to increase awareness about all anti-social...

A good leader leads by example, not just by commands and we at Children Of India make sure that the children we work with have the right examples to look up to. We achieve this by organising various sessions for the children of CIF where we call leaders from a wide range of organisations working...

I have been physically assaulted by my in-laws so many times that I have lost count”, says adolescent Raghavi* from a village in Belagavi, India. Married at the age of twelve, Raghavi began facing abuse during the time of her first pregnancy. She was just 15 then. “The first time my mother-in-law beat me was...