CHILD MARRIAGE is still a challenge for a number of countries in the Southeast Asia region, including Indonesia and Cambodia. According to the latest data, Cambodia is in first place in ASEAN with the highest cases of child marriage, followed by Indonesia which is in second place. This high number has encouraged the two countries to work together to reduce the prevalence of child marriage, especially girls who marry under the age of 18.
Deputy for Fulfillment of Children’s Rights, Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (Kemen PPPA), Pribudiarta Nur Sitepu said that his party had spoken with the Cambodian government to learn from each other to share good practices in efforts to eliminate and prevent cases of child marriage in both countries.
“Conditions in Indonesia are certainly not the same as Cambodia, but try to examine good practices in both countries. “In Indonesia, the biggest challenges to child marriage are caused by problems understanding religion, community culture and poverty factors,” he explained to Media Indonesia at the PPPA Ministry Building, Jakarta, on Tuesday (7/5).
The Cambodian Demographic and Health Survey reports that the number of child marriage cases has decreased for almost a decade. It was recorded that 2% of girls under 15 years old were victims of child marriage in 2014, dropping to 1.8% in 2022.
Meanwhile in Indonesia in 2022 it fell from 23% to 8.06%, and fell once more to 6.92% in 2023. This achievement exceeds the target set in the 2020-2024 National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN), namely 8. 74% in 2024.
Executive Director of Plan Indonesia, Dini Widiastuti said that the comparative study visit from the Cambodian government supported by the PLAN Indonesia and Cambodia organizations on Tuesday (7/5) aimed to study and share the implementation of national strategies, policies, law enforcement and marriage prevention programs. child.
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“Discussion shared by both parties from the Indonesian and Cambodian governments regarding the government’s efforts and conditions in Indonesia and Cambodia, how exactly to prevent child marriage and educate the public as well as law enforcement in order to meet the targets of the two countries, although there are still many challenges and work the house has to be finished,” he explained.
On the same occasion, the Director of the Legal Protection Department of the Cambodian Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Sineth Sar, explained that his party had found an interesting policy practice to prevent child marriage in Indonesia, one of which was the imposition of criminal acts once morest perpetrators of child marriage through the Sexual Violence Crime Law (TPKS ), the Child Protection Law and the Marriage Law.
“In Cambodia there are already regulations regarding the prevention of child marriage and early pregnancy in various regions but they are not very effective nationally because there is no compensation and criminal acts are enforced. “Therefore, we want to learn from Indonesia how to prevent child marriage through law enforcement and digital outreach and involving the role of civil society,” he explained.
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According to Sineth, the number of child marriages in a number of regions in Cambodia is still high due to education, culture and economic status. However, for him, this is not a way out of dealing with these problems. Child marriage can actually give rise to a number of new problems.
“The factor causing the high rate of child marriage in Cambodia is family finances where poverty is the main motive. Apart from that, it is also easier for children to enter romantic relationships digitally via social media, which can lead to out-of-wedlock pregnancies and ultimately early marriage. “In some parts of Cambodia, there is a culture that believes that men should have more wives sooner so that it is easier to work,” he said.
Meanwhile, the State Secretary of the Cambodian Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Hou Samith, said that this visit was part of an effort to gain knowledge and experience between the technical working group of the Ministry of PPPA and related ministries in implementing the National Strategy for the Prevention of Child Marriage, as well as the Plan Indonesia program in preventing child marriage.
“We hope that through this visit, the Cambodian Ministry of Women’s Affairs can utilize this learning to develop a National Action Plan for the Prevention of Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy in Cambodia,” said Hou Samith. (Z-6)
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