CHENNAI: A 12-year-old betrothed to a man her father’s age. A teenage rape survivor forced to marry her perpetrator. A girl offered as a bride to pay off her father’s debt. Their stories lie buried in Tamil Nadu government statistics, which show 1,586 child marriages were thwarted in the state from January to November, a 60% rise in four years.The directorate of social welfare furnished the data close to a week after the ministry of women and child development informed the Lok Sabha that Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of cases registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in the country.Director of social welfare V Amuthavalli attributed the rise to better reporting and awareness. “These numbers reflect only those that were reported,” she said, adding, “We need to map places where child marriages are high, but reporting is low.” In a review meeting held last week with the health department, social welfare officials explored the scope of sourcing data on mothers below 19 years of age who avail government healthcare. “Our aim is not to penalise them, but to understand the socio-economic factors that pushed them into marriage and to plan intervention,” said Amuthavalli.From 2008, 6,658 marriages were thwarted by officials. However, FIRs were filed only in 158 cases, and court injunction orders issued in six. Officials say the accused in these cases are usually let off after signing a stamped paper saying they would ensure the child is not married till she becomes a major. “We file an FIR only if the situation is serious, like in case of rape or abuse, or if the girl wants to press charges,” said a district social welfare officer.Child rights campaigners, on the other hand, said the state was going soft on the perpetrators to hide the lacuna in government facilities for children. “What is the point of a law if it isn’t being used?” asked Gladston Xavier, head of the department of social work, Loyola College. “Arrests and legal proceedings will work if they have an alternate environment conducive for these rescued girls,” he said.According to the act, child marriage is a non-bailable offence punishable with rigorous imprisonment, which may extend to two years, or fine up to Rs 1 lakh or both.As of November, the highest number of child marriages was reported from Dharmapuri (180), followed by Salem (135) and Tiruvannamalai (135). Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur account for 3% of these cases.The reasons for parents pushing the children into marriage vary. An informal survey done by the social welfare department among 50 rescued child brides and their families in a village in Villupuram pegged love affairs to be the primary cause. Around 30% said their parents were migrant workers and the marriage was for their “protection”. Nearly 5% were as exchange of debts or victims of abuse.Marriage is just the beginning of their ordeal. Dr B Subhasri of the Rural Women’s Social Education Centre, who practises as a gynaecologist near Chengalpet, said many young mothers she sees are undernourished and suffer from birth-related complications. “Many of the babies born are underweight too,” she said.In 2008, government records show, five child marriages were reported. In 2017, till the end of November, officials thwarted 1,586 such marriages.