The finalised set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) developed by the Meghalaya Social Welfare Department will deal with the issue of early marriages and violence against women and children in the entire state. The draft document has been sent to the Advocate General to get it vetted by the law and then submit it to the Meghalaya High Court and be publicised.
The SOPs, once approved, will provide a standard operating procedure that can be used by the law enforcement bodies, social workers and community institutions to deal with cases of child marriage and gender-based violence more effectively. The project can be regarded as a significant step toward the elimination of the existing gap between the old traditions and the new legal regulations, especially in the rural regions where the knowledge of child protection laws is rather weak.
Department advisor Paul Lyngdoh said that the aim is to create a balance between the rule of law and cultural realities. He also stressed that child marriage is not a tradition, but early marriages are typical in Meghalaya, which results in teenage pregnancies. Lyngdoh pointed out that many girls are mothers at 13 or 14, and when enforcement starts, communities cry ignorance, invoking the term tradition after a consultative meeting with the stakeholders.
To enhance the SOPs, the department will initiate an awareness campaign in the state through counsellors, child protection experts and Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs). The campaign will target the remote villages where the communities will be educated on the Protection of Children against Sexual Offenders (POCSO) and the pertinent legal provisions.
Lyngdoh also emphasised the necessity of Community-based policing by reviving and empowering the Village Defence Parties (VDPs), which are the grassroots of supporting the local law enforcement. The police can use VDPs as the foot soldiers. When the villages are informed and engaged, we can have a shielding mechanism where no one abuses women and children, and the violence is minimised, he said.
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