Our core activities

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Gram Vikas Yuva Trust (GVYT) is dedicated to the development of the deprived people (backward and poor rural women, people with disabilities, child labour, victims of trafficking and violence) of Madhubani. The organization is working on the following issue of Child Marriage, Child Trafficking, Child Labour and Child Sexual Abuse. The organization participated and organized Child Marriage Free India Campaign in Madhubani districts of Bihar covering over 300 villages under the project.

Gram Vikas Yuva Trust (GVYT) is dedicated to the development of the deprived people (backward and poor rural women, people with disabilities, child labour, victims of trafficking and violence) of Madhubani. The organization is working on the following issue of Child Marriage, Child Trafficking, Child Labour and Child Sexual Abuse. The organization participated and organized Child Marriage Free India Campaign in Madhubani districts of Bihar covering over 300 villages under the project.

Gram Vikas Yuva Trust (GVYT) is dedicated to the development of the deprived people (backward and poor rural women, people with disabilities, child labour, victims of trafficking and violence) of Madhubani. The organization is working on the following issue of Child Marriage, Child Trafficking, Child Labour and Child Sexual Abuse. The organization participated and organized Child Marriage Free India Campaign in Madhubani districts of Bihar covering over 300 villages under the project.

1. Akshaya Tritiya Campaign – Child Marriage Free India campaign was organized during 22.04.2023 and conducted events in 15 places. The campaign reached out to 31 religious leaders to pledge to prevent and end child marriage in their villages, districts. 

2. June Action Month – Gram Vikas Yuva Trust the organization conducted the action month with the objective of Child Marriage Free India campaign and prevented 33 child marriages and 07 FIRs got registered. The campaign was conducted in collaboration with ,District Administration, Police, DCPU, CWC as such, departments and covered by print media with an outreach of campaign directly and through online.

3. 16 October 2023 - Child Marriage Free India Campaign Event – The campaign event was conducted in madhubani  locations covering 157 villages in collaboration District Administration, Education, Panchayati Raj, DCPU departments with notifications issued by Panchayati Raj departments. The campaign was organized in Madhubani districts, 157 villages with an outreach of Child Marriage Free India Campaign.

Child marriage is not just an age-old social evil, but also a heinous crime that robs children of their childhood. Child marriage is a “crime against children” that violates basic human rights, minor girls are forced to marry and live a life of mental trauma, physical and biological stress, domestic violence including limited access to education and increased vulnerability to domestic violence. The consequences of child marriage are severe and extensive. Some of the specific consequences include: early pregnancies leading to complications and higher rate of maternal mortality and death of infants, malnutrition among both the infant and the mother, increased vulnerability to reproductive health, disruption in girl’s education and thereby reduction in opportunities of her personal and professional development, domestic violence and abuse, limited decision making powers in the household, and mental health issues. 

India’s Census 2011 revealed 12 million children were married before attaining the legal age, of which 5.2 million were girls. Globally, child marriage is identified as a crime and a menace that needs to be eliminated. It finds space in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, under target 5.3 of Goal 5 that states elimination of all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation by 2025.

The latest National Family Health Survey (2019-21) shows that although there is a drop in the overall rate of child marriages, from 26.8% in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS 4) to 23.3% in NFHS-5, it is still high despite laws, programmes and schemes in place to address the issue. 

WHEN CHILDREN HAVE CHILDREN- TIPPING POINT TO END CHILD MARRIAGE Book authored by Mr. Bhuwan Ribhu is an action plan to eliminate child marriage in India by 2030.It looks at the existing data on child marriage and lists 257 districts in India where the issue of child marriage is worst, which means where the occurrence of this evil practice is highest as compared to national numbers.

Tipping Point is the threshold required in an ecosystem needed to tilt the scale of the problem towards a point of no-return. The Tipping Point of Child Marriage is the critical point after which the society does not accept child marriage. 

Tipping Point Methodology 

The aim of reduction of 60 percent of child marriage is assumed to bring down the incidence of child marriage to 5.5 percent in the next nine years from 2021, from the last available estimates i.e., NFHS-5, till 2030. An additional assumption is that such a focused and elaborate intervention against child marriage would have a ripple effect. 

In order to reach the Tipping Point, the Author proposes strategy at national and district level.

a. National Level strategy where Governments, Institutions, statutory bodies, etc. work towards prevention, protection, increased investment, improved prosecution, convergence and use of technology for monitoring 

b. District Level strategy is similar to national level strategy but includes district administration, Panchayats, civil society, NGOs, other functionaries, parents and children who work collectively to prevent, report, and take action against child marriage 

Understanding the seriousness of the issue, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in W.P. Civil 382 of 2013 pronounced that the sexual intercourse committed by the husband upon his wife being under the age of 18 years with or without her consent can be constituted as rape. To address this, the most definitive and audacious commitment to end child marriage was made with the launch of Child Marriage Free India campaign.

Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) is a nationwide campaign led by women leaders and a coalition of more than 160 NGOs spanning more than 300 districts working to eliminate child marriage in India. CMFI is working to attain the tipping point of child marriage, after which the society does not accept this evil practice and that will happen when the prevalence of child marriage is brought down to 5.5% by 2030, from the current national prevalence rate of 23.3%. This is being done by initially targeting 257 high-prevalence districts and gradually focusing on all the districts of the country.

Child marriage results in child rape, resulting in child pregnancy, and in a large number of cases, may lead to child deaths. For decades, we have been losing generations of our children to child marriage. The Child Marriage Free India campaign has received extended support from various Departments and Institutions of over 28 States. So far, across India more than 5 crore people have taken the pledge to end child marriage over the last one year through the efforts of the Child Marriage Free India Campaign.

Know more about the Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) Campaign:https://www.childmarriagefreeindia.org/

Minor's love affair marriage stopped

Name – Meera Kumari  

Age – 14 Years 3 Months

District- Madhubani

                   It was informed by the Village Child Protection Committee that a marriage is going to take place here after 10 days and the girl is a minor and the boy is an adult. After getting all the information by Child Protection Committee, they were told that our team will go to your place tomorrow. After that, our team reached the girl's house on the second day and after meeting the girl's mother, she said that my husband has died and I am somehow able to educate and nurture myself and my four children. Somehow I have to take care of the education and all the responsibilities of all the children, that's why I am getting my daughter married. When asked about the age of the girl child, she was wrongly told about the age of the girl child, while seeing the girl child, she was looking minor. On being asked to show the school certificate / Aadhar card of the girl child, she was being evasive by them. But it was not shown by her. After that we went to the girl's school and inquired about the age of the girl, and then the age of the girl was 14 years and 3 months in the enrollment register. Again we went to the girl's house the next day and told the girl's mother that the girl is still a minor and marrying a minor is a legal offense. After that, the girl told that our girl, who is getting married, is deeply in love with her. Even after persuading millions of us, she says that I will marry them, get me married them. Because of the girl's stubbornness, we are forcing her to marry. 

Then the counseling of the girl child was done by our counselor, yet the girl child was not ready to accept it in any way. Again the next day our counselor met the girl and did counseling, and then the girl said that I love them and want to marry them. The girl was told about the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, yet she was not ready to accept anything.

The child and her mother were asked to come to the office the next day. On the second day when both came to the office, the girl was again counseled and she was given many examples of love affairs, how marriages fail in love affairs of young children and they and their families are at a loss at the social level as well. Then it was said through the girl that now I too will pay attention to my studies and become something after studying. I will get married only after standing on my feet. After that continuous follow-up is being done by us, but the marriage has stopped.

Marriage of minor girl being arranged by parents stopped

Name – Soni Kumari 

Age - 16 years 7 Months

District - Madhubani

Our outreach team came to know during the meeting that a minor girl (16 years 7 Months) is getting married in our village. Taking cognizance of this, our team inquired about this from 4-5 people of the village and it was found that it is true. After that all the above things were informed after coming to the office and the next day when our team reached the girl's house, it came to know that the marriage has actually been fixed.

Talking to the girl's parents and getting information about the age of the girl, they said that their girl is an adult and the date of her marriage has also been fixed and we have made a lot of preparations for the marriage. You are unnecessarily troubling us in this. Even after many persuasions by us, he was not ready to stop the marriage of his minor girl.

Even after many persuasions by us, he was not ready to stop the marriage of his minor girl. After that we contacted the former District Council member Shri Bhola Jha ji and other dignitaries of the village and informed them about all the things and also informed them about the legal process under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. Then they said that you come tomorrow, we will also explain to the girl's parents and will ask them not to marry now.

The next day we went there again and went to the girl's house with all of them and they were explained by everyone but the girl's father was repeatedly saying that I have completed all the preparations, now you guys don't stop the marriage. They were then explained by everyone that if you do this marriage, then no one will be involved in your marriage under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, because there will be a case against all of them.

After persuading the girl's father a lot, he said that he will now talk to the boy's father on this subject and he talked and made him aware of all the things. Both the families together extended the marriage for two years. The girl's father thanked everyone that you saved my own daughter from being guilty. From now onwards, I will definitely tell this thing to all my acquaintances.

After that continuous follow-up is being done by us, but the marriage has stopped.

Link : 

https://fb.watch/nKaDQEBd2p/?mibextid=RUbZ1f