Analysis of Child Marriage and Related Policies in Indonesia: Sustainable Development Issue

Abstract

Child marriage is a prevalent social problem in developing countries, including Indonesia, and its implementation has been prohibited in all regions of Indonesia. The revision of the marriage law that lifts up the minimum age limit for child marriage and the implementation of the child protection policy does not inevitably guarantee that the practice of child marriage can be avoided. The research objective of this study was to analyze the success of the factors and the effectiveness of the implementation of policies on handling the practice of child marriage in achieving sustainable goals in Indonesia. Data collection was performed using a profile approach utilizing data from the National Development Planning Agency of 2016-2019, desk review of the literature, and stock-taking of relevant research studies. Moreover, the effectiveness of policy implementation is assessed using a contingency analysis of the factors of policy commitment and government capacity. The results showed that the effectiveness of policy implementation from the factor of policy commitment was performed through the integration of the goals of SDGs into the national strategy for preventing child marriage, enforcement of main policy changes, mapping of regional-based issue trends and root causes, mapping of regional-level derivative policies issued before main policy revision changes, harmonization and synchronization of various policies through derivative policies, planning and development at the regional and village levels. Adjustment in the factor of implementation capacity of policy is indicated by institutional convergence and synergy of various parties, including learning from various good practices in the regions. The contingency matrix-based policy application model for handling the practice of child marriage will be effective if it utilizes a progressive model.