Krishna district topped the list of child marriages as 20,584 girls married below their legal age in 2015-16 out of the total 1,71,083 child marriages in the state, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 4. Anantapur, Visakhapatnam and Chittoor follow Krishna district in child marriages. To analyse the grass root situation, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in collaboration with Young Lives India had conducted a state-level consultation meet on child marriages with the government departments and NGOs concerned. Members of NCPCR and experts opined that lack of awareness among people, especially in agencies, social stigma and economic backwardness were identified as root causes for child marriages.

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