A powerful shift is underway in the global understanding of child marriage. What was long treated as a social or cultural issue is now increasingly recognized for what it truly is: a grave violation of children’s rights and a form of sexual violence. A recent report by the Columbia Institute of Global Politics Women’s Initiative at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs reflects this growing global consensus. The report emphasizes that child marriage must be treated as a criminal justice issue that demands both accountability and prevention.

It is heartening to see the world increasingly align around this understanding. Supported by the Global Child Marriage Advisory Group, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Girls Not Brides, and others, the report underscores that ending child marriage is not only a moral and legal imperative but also central to economic development and long-term growth.

Three years ago, when the book When Children Have Children: Tipping Point to End Child Marriage by activist Bhuwan Ribhu was released in India, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, warned that eliminating child marriage globally could take 300 years. Yet the past three years have shown that when governments, communities, and institutions act together, change can accelerate far faster than anyone expected. India carries a significant share of the global burden of child marriage, but it is also emerging as a leader in the fight to end it. Over the past decade, the prevalence of child marriage has declined from around 23 percent to below 15 percent, putting the country on track to eliminate one-third of the global problem.

National initiatives such as the Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Campaign, supported by networks like Just Rights for Children, are helping accelerate this transformation. Working hand in hand with law enforcement and local authorities, more than 250 NGOs have stopped or prevented nearly 500,000 child marriages across India.

Behind each of these numbers is a child whose education is preserved, a family whose choices are challenged, and a community beginning to rethink long-standing social norms. Each intervention represents more than a statistic; it is a life saved, a future protected, and a childhood reclaimed.

Not long ago, organizations working on child rights often operated in silos. Civil society groups addressing similar issues rarely collaborated. At times, the ecosystem was marked more by competition than cooperation. Stories were highlighted to critique others rather than prevent harm, and interventions were fragmented.

The past three years, however, have witnessed a remarkable transformation. A new spirit of collaboration has emerged across India’s child protection landscape. Civil society organizations, grassroots groups, community leaders, and institutional actors now work as part of a shared mission rather than through isolated efforts.

This shift has created a fraternity of action committed to protecting children. Organizations are sharing knowledge, pooling resources, coordinating interventions, and supporting each other in real time. Instead of competing narratives, the emphasis is now on collective outcomes.

Over time, this collaboration has evolved into a new ideology of shared responsibility – a recognition that complex social problems like child marriage cannot be solved alone. It requires movements that bring communities, governments, institutions, and civil society together under a unified vision.

Together, they form a protective ecosystem that prioritizes the well-being of children. This “whole-of-society, whole-of-government” approach ensures that laws are implemented, awareness spreads, and vulnerable children are shielded from harm. Beyond enforcement, social norms themselves are beginning to shift. Panchayats, teachers, faith leaders, and families are speaking out against child marriage. Increasingly, girls themselves are refusing early marriages and reporting threats to authorities, reflecting a profound cultural change in previously unquestioned family decisions.

For years, global experts warned that ending child marriage could take centuries. But recent progress in India proves that transformation is possible when societies act together with urgency.

Every prevented marriage represents a childhood protected, an education preserved, and a future restored. The individuals working on the frontlines today activists, teachers, police officers, civil society workers, and families are shaping a future that once seemed distant.

One day, they will be able to tell their children and grandchildren that a crime the world believed would take centuries to end began to collapse within a few years because people chose to act together.

Ending child marriage is not merely a legal or policy objective. It is a moral imperative, a social movement, and a shared responsibility, driven by collective courage, collaboration, and an unwavering commitment to children. When people come together with purpose and urgency, even the most deeply entrenched injustices can be dismantled. The movement to end child marriage proves that change is already underway and that the future can be rewritten, one child at a time.

(The author is assistant director, India for Children)

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