The government has taken important steps to reduce the number of child marriages, but the pandemic is predicted to increase the number of child marriages. Data shows that the number of child marriages and applications for marriage dispensation tend to increase during the pandemic. However, how the COVID-19 pandemic contributes to child marriage is still not clearly understood. INOVASI and the Gender Research Center (PRG) conducted a study to fill this gap by trying to understand more about several cases of child marriage happened during the pandemic in INOVASI partner areas. There are four main focuses of research in this study, namely (1) understanding the factors that contribute to child marriage cases, (2) the impact of child marriage in the cases studied, (3) efforts to prevent child marriage, and (4) efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of marriage. children in victims found at the study site.
This qualitative study focuses on the marital experience of girls. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with a structured interview guide on 33 female subjects and 5 (five) male subjects in three provinces of INOVASI partner areas, namely East Java (Jatim), West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Among female subjects, there were 6 (six) additional subjects in NTT who were married before the pandemic. This had happened because information about child marriages that occurred in NTT during the pandemic tended to be more limited. The experiences of the subjects in NTT remains relevant with the need to address the impact of marriage on their lives, especially their right to education. In addition to the main subject, data collection was also carried out on supporting subjects consisting of families, community members, and stakeholders.
Read full report through the following link, only available in Bahasa Indonesia.