Teen & Youth Safety

🏠 Abuse from Parents or Guardians+

Abuse from your own family is the hardest to recognise — because it happens in the place that is supposed to be your safest space. It is still abuse.

Physical Abuse

Being regularly slapped, beaten, or physically punished beyond what anyone would call "discipline."
Injuries, bruises, or pain that are hidden or explained away to others.
Being physically restrained — locked in a room, not allowed to leave the house.

Emotional Abuse

Constant humiliation, name-calling, or being told you are worthless, a burden, or a failure.
Being compared constantly to siblings or relatives in a degrading way.
Threats to disown you, throw you out, or send you away.
Emotional blackmail — "After everything we've done for you…" used to control your choices.

Academic Pressure & Coercion

Physical punishment or severe verbal abuse for exam results.
Being forced to study a subject or career you do not want — with threats of violence or abandonment if you refuse.
Being prevented from pursuing higher education, especially if you are a girl.

Mobility & Privacy Violations

Phone confiscated, calls monitored, messages read without consent.
Not allowed to meet friends, go out, or have any private life.
Being tracked without consent via phone apps or through other family members.

🚩 Key distinction: Parents setting reasonable boundaries is normal. Parents causing you fear, pain, or lasting emotional harm is abuse — even if they call it love or tradition.

💒 Forced & Child Marriage+

Child marriage is illegal in India. Girls under 18 and boys under 21 cannot be legally married. A marriage conducted despite this is voidable — you can have it annulled.

Recognising pressure toward forced marriage

Being "introduced" to potential spouses without your knowledge or consent.
Pressure to agree "for family honour" (izzat) or to avoid family conflict.
Threats of cutting off your education, withdrawing financial support, or disowning you.
Being taken to another city or village "for a function" that turns out to be a wedding.
Passport or Aadhaar confiscated to prevent you from escaping.

Your legal rights

You cannot be legally married without your free, full consent — at any age.
If you are under 18, any marriage arranged for you is a criminal offence for the adults involved.
You can file a petition in court to have a forced marriage declared void.
Call 1098 (Childline) or 181 — they can help you reach safety and access legal protection.

⚠️ If you think this is being planned for you: Contact Childline (1098) or 181 immediately — before the event. Once a ceremony has taken place, the legal process becomes more complex. Early contact is critical.

💑 Abuse in Teen Dating Relationships+

Teen relationships can be beautiful — but some contain warning signs of control that are easy to miss when emotions are intense.

Digital control

Demanding you share your phone password, social media accounts, or constant location.
Getting angry if you don't respond immediately to messages.
Telling you who you can or cannot be friends with online.
Reading your private messages without permission.

Emotional manipulation

"I'll hurt myself if you leave me" — this is manipulation, not love. You are not responsible for another person's safety.
Making you feel guilty for spending time with family or other friends.
Extreme jealousy presented as "caring" or "protective."
Blaming you for their anger — "You made me do this."

Image-based abuse

Pressuring you to send intimate photos — this is coercion, and anyone under 18 who does this is at risk under child protection laws regardless of their own age.
Threatening to share your private images with your parents or publicly if you break up — this is a criminal offence under the IT Act.

✅ Remember: A partner who loves you does not make you afraid, check your phone, threaten you, or make you feel ashamed. If any of these are happening, talk to a trusted adult or call iCall (9152987821) for free, confidential counselling.

🎓 School & College Safety+

Your rights at school and college

Every school and college is required to have a committee to address complaints of harassment. Report to them confidentially.
Colleges must have an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) for sexual harassment — their proceedings are confidential.
Teachers and counsellors who receive disclosures of abuse have a duty to help — they are not allowed to dismiss your concerns or tell you to "sort it out at home."

Online risks at school

Be careful about what you share in class WhatsApp groups — screenshots can be taken and shared without your consent.
Fake social media profiles and anonymous confession pages are frequently used to bully, harass, or out individuals.
If someone is harassing you online using information from your school community, document it and report to your institution's ICC.

✅ School counsellors are bound by confidentiality. If you are experiencing abuse at home, they can help you access support without immediately involving your parents if doing so would put you at greater risk.

🆘 If You Are in Danger Right Now+

Call 1098 (Childline) — free, 24/7, confidential. Trained to help teens in unsafe home situations. They can arrange shelter, contact police, and provide legal support.
Call 181 (Women's Helpline) — even for teenagers. They can help you access safety, counselling, and legal protection.
Go to your nearest police station and say "I need help — I am not safe at home."
If you are at school, tell a counsellor, teacher, or any trusted adult who can help you make that first call.
If you are being forced into marriage, contact Childline 1098 immediately — before the ceremony takes place.

🚨 You will not get into trouble for calling for help. Childline and the police are there to protect you — not to punish you for speaking up. Your safety matters.