Over 36,800 Child Marriages Foiled in Madhya Pradesh Since April 2023: JRC Founder
Bhopal, Sept 1: More than 36,800 child marriages were prevented and nearly 4,800 child trafficking victims rescued in Madhya Pradesh between April 2023 and August 2025 with the support of law enforcement agencies, according to Just Rights for Children (JRC) founder Bhuwan Ribhu.
Addressing reporters on Monday, Ribhu said JRC, along with over 250 NGOs nationwide, has been working in close coordination with authorities to safeguard children’s rights. He noted that at the national level, the combined efforts had helped stop 3.74 lakh child marriages, rescue over one lakh children from trafficking, provide mental health care to 34,000 victims of sexual exploitation, and initiate legal action in more than 63,000 cases.
“In Madhya Pradesh alone, we managed to stop 36,838 child marriages across 41 districts, freed 4,777 trafficked children, and extended support to over 1,200 survivors of sexual exploitation,” he said.
He added that more than 1,000 cases of online sexual exploitation of children were also registered, sending a strong message that “the rule of law will protect every child, everywhere.”
According to Ribhu, Madhya Pradesh’s child marriage rate stands at 23.1%, slightly below the national average of 23.3%. However, certain districts continue to face alarming numbers—Rajgarh (46%), Sheopur (39.2%), Jhabua (36.5%), and Agar Malwa (35.6%).
Highlighting JRC’s work with 17 partner organisations in 41 districts, Ribhu said the initiative follows a dual strategy of awareness-building and legal action to curb child marriage, trafficking, sexual abuse, and child labour. He further reiterated JRC’s commitment to the ‘Child Marriage Free India’ campaign, which aims to eradicate the practice by 2030.
