LUCKNOW, Nov. 21 -- Child marriage survivors and young girl representatives from four Uttar Pradesh districts met senior officers of the Women and Child Security Organization (WCSO) of UP Police on World Children's Day (November 20). The programme, organised in collaboration with the British Asian Trust at 1090 headquarters in Lucknow, highlighted the role girls are playing in preventing child marriages and promoting safety in their communities. The children also presented a short film they scripted and acted in-'Badhte Bacche', a WCSO production on consent, "bad touch", and the power of saying no. The film urges teenagers to recognise unsafe situations, reject early relationships, avoid elopement, and speak up against child marriage. UP Police also shared the video on their X handle. Fourteen-year-old Lakshmi, from Balrampur, sang the Bhojpuri verse she once used to plead with her father not to marry her at a young age. Lakshmi said that her father would grow emotional listening to the song, eventually giving up the idea of her marriage. Today, she has helped stop 18 child marriages in her village by convincing families and mobilising support. She was joined by 10 other survivors and child representatives from Siddharthnagar, Chandauli, Balrampur and Prayagraj, all part of village-level child welfare and protection committees. Additional SP Rukmani Verma said the interaction reaffirmed the need for stronger community-based policing to safeguard children and support child-led prevention efforts....