Concerned And Difficult To Prevent, Every Day A Child In NTB Gets Married

Peneliti Utama Save the Children Indonesia, Dian Aryani pada kegiatan diskusi Diseminasi Laporan Penelitian Kualitative tentang Knikah Anak, Pernikahan Dini, dan Kawin Paksa di NTB, Jumat (27/1/2023). (ANTARA)

MATARAM - A qualitative study of Save the Children Indonesia found that in 12 months one to two children in West Nusa Tenggara were married every day.

President Researcher of Save the Children Indonesia, Dian Aryani, Friday, said there was an increase in the number of incidents (prevalence) of child marriage in NTB.

Data on dispensation for the marriage of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion of NTB in 2019 contains 311 applications and 803 applications in 2020. There is an increase in 492 marriage dispensation applications.

The data above shows that on average, there is an additional one or two children who are married every day, within 12 months in NTB.

"This figure does not include the practice of marriage organized by the village head who is not well recorded," said Dian as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, January 27.

He explained that the qualitative research of Save the Children Indonesia regarding child marriage, early marriage and forced marriage (PAPDKP) was carried out in four districts in NTB, namely North Lombok, West Lombok, East Lombok, Central Lombok.

As a result, 38 percent of the 492 marriage dispensation applications were a compilation of data from three districts, namely North Lombok, Central Lombok and East Lombok, with the highest number in Central Lombok.

"Forcing child marriage is a form of violence and violation of children's rights. The case of child marriage in NTB is like an iceberg where the data that appears on the surface is based on a marriage dispensation application, while data on unregistered marriages and marriages under hand is not found," said Dian Aryani.

According to him, child marriage has a negative impact on children's growth and development such as education, health, economy which will certainly lead to the emergence of new poverty or structural poverty.

Not only that, cases of domestic violence are also rampant in young couples or couples who marry at the age of children, and not least the worst impact in various cases is death.

Data from the NTB Education and Culture Office also notes that the number of dropping out of high school/vocational school students as of November 2021 has reached 2,313 people. The main cause is child marriage and working to help the family economy.

The key findings of Save the Children Indonesia Qualitative Studies also illustrate in detail the discriminatory social norms, patriarchal Merarik Sasak customs, adult omission practices, subjective belief interpretations, lack of positive communication between parents and children regarding how to hang out and behave up to gender inequality and gender inequality, especially in girls and girls.

Meanwhile, in terms of law and policy, the NTB Provincial Government (Pempro) and development partners have made many breakthroughs, including budgeting for the elimination of acts of violence and child marriage. One of the legal umbrellas is the NTB Regional Regulation Number 5 of 2021 concerning the Prevention of Child Marriage.

However, policies and regulations at the provincial level alone are not enough to answer the issue of child marriage, there needs to be an integrated effort with traditional leaders and religious leaders as well as assistance and provision of solutions, especially for children who have been successfully separated (an effort to separate/fail child marriage).

"Regarding this child marriage, the government has not provided a concrete solution, meaning that it is still half-hearted like when children are separated, what is the assistance after that, because they must continue to be accompanied, especially related to the economy. When parents are difficult, they will definitely find shortcuts, so all parties must be involved, starting from traditional leaders, religious leaders, religious courts, villages and all parties," said the representative of the child's parents who responded to the research in East Lombok.

The recommendation of qualitative research nationally is to focus on the need to provide guidelines governing the recommendation for the dispensation of marriage which is a common reference, increasing the budget allocation to build children, women and families' resilience, including strengthening the family's economy in order to prevent child marriage.

Then, develop programs that focus on strengthening children's capacity to determine the impact of child marriage and be able to become agents of change, create environments that support the prevention of child marriage and ensure access and expansion of services, including assistance for children who are victims of child marriage.

Not only that, young researchers consisting of child representatives also conveyed important recommendations to be followed up immediately, including cross-generational dialogue and education programs, increasing media messages and education to prevent child marriage.

Then, promote gender equality through citizen / child journalism by utilizing local social media or TV channels, strengthening child forum activities, developing reporting systems for cases of child rights violations, and involving the participation of children and disability groups and women in development planning.

Meanwhile, the Head of the NTB DP3AP2KB Office, Wismaningsih Drajadiah, did not deny that child marriage cases in NTB were high. Even data from the Indonesian Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), stated that child marriage cases in NTB number two were the second highest in Indonesia in 2021 with a percentage of 16.59 percent, after West Sulawesi in first place with 17.71 percent and the third position in Central Sulawesi with 15.47 percent.

"We ourselves feel concerned about the high condition of child marriage in NTB. However, we have actually tried to reduce the number of child representatives in NTB," he said.