bengaluru child marriages in rural karnataka have seen a 50 drop in the past 15 years according to data from the national family health survey nfhsthe 200506 nhfs report said 501 of the women aged 2024 years were married before the age of 18 in the states rural areas and this was an indicator of the prevalence of child marriages in the 201516 report the number dropped to 248 in the recently released 201920 report the figure stood at 247 however the urban story is different women aged 2024 years married before the age of 18 years in urban karnataka made up 285 in 200506 and the data for 201920 shows it is 213experts said the gamechanger was the introduction of prohibition of child marriages act 2006 which empowered the government and activists to address gaps in earlier legislationthe act campaigns awareness activities ngos complaint mechanism through childrens helplines and appointment of childmarriage prohibition officers have cumulatively made a difference for further prevention of child marriages active participation of local gram panchayat members is required says vasudeva sharma executive director child rights trust an ngo working on upholding childrens rightstougher to prevent child marriages in urban areas officialchild rights should be included in the training for gram panchayat members says sharma according to him the major challenge is to prevent the wedding that happens when a girl is 1618 years of age sharma says child marriages are easier to prevent in rural parts than in urban areas an anganwadi worker in a rural area knows houses within her purview very well awarenessbuilding activities must be increased in slums and localities where migrant workers live he adds prevalence of child marriages has not seen a drastic reduction in urban areas and this poses challenges in terms of a young girls protection health and educationawareness being createdrs peddapaiah director women and child welfare department agreed that prevention of child marriages is tougher in urban areas as most of such marriages happen outside the city limits more secrecy is maintained in urban areas when a child marriage is conducted awareness activities have been going on in schools and colleges detailing the effect of child marriage on various aspects of life including womans health says peddapaiahprevalence of child marriage is more in tribal settlements like chamarajnagar mysuru kolar raichur and koppal districts he adds