3 Years of Gema Cita: Preventing Child Marriage in West Lombok
18 September 2024
Mataram, September 18, 2024 – Child marriage is still one of the main challenges in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, where this province still occupies the top three positions in Indonesia for child marriage rates. Responding to this, various parties are trying to prevent it, including issuing regional regulations, campaigning to stop child marriage, strengthening the capacity of children, parents, educators to religious and traditional leaders.
One of the programs in NTB that has been aggressively preventing child marriage for the last three years is Gema Cita (Generasi Emas Bangsa Bebas Perkawinan Usia Anak) implemented by Plan Indonesia in collaboration with various parties including peer educators, schools, Community-Based Integrated Child Protection (PATBM), Child Friendly School (SRA) teams, as well as the West Lombok Regency and NTB Provincial governments.
“We have been working for eight years in NTB until the last three years through the Gema Cita program”, explained Dini Widiastuti, Executive Director of Plan Indonesia, ”Through the Gema Cita Program we aim to encourage national government programs to accelerate the reduction and elimination of child marriage and teenage pregnancy. We hope this effort will continue, especially with the strong commitment of the local government.”
Dra. Nunung Triningsih, MM, Head of DP3AP2KB NTB on behalf of the Acting Governor of NTB, opened the event by expressing her appreciation for Plan Indonesia’s good work carried out over three years to prevent child marriage in West Lombok District.
“We would like to express our highest gratitude to Plan Indonesia, which has helped reduce the number of child marriages and prevent child marriage,” said Nunung.
Preventing child marriage
In her speech, Dini expressed her appreciation for the various partners who have supported Plan Indonesia from the government, children’s forum, SRA team, and PATBM. Of course also to peer educators who become agents of change even after Gema Cita is over.
“Gema Cita has successfully assisted 154 peer educators, 60% of whom are girls in West Lombok District. Peer educators are also proven to educate more than 2,300 of their peers, have participated in explaining child marriage, and maintaining their peers to stay in school, both children who have married or are about to marry,” said Dini.
Various advocacy efforts have also encouraged the West Lombok District Government to sign the Regent Regulation (Perbup) of the Regional Action Plan (RAD) for the Prevention of Child Marriage (PPA) and allocate Rp 200 million for the socialization of the RAD PPA Perbup.
Dra. Nunung Triningsih, MM, Head of DP3AP2KB NTB, explained that since the presence of the Gema Cita program in 2022, West Lombok District has succeeded in preventing child marriage in NTB.
“Collaborative efforts like this are expected to be replicated in other cities and districts in NTB. Although there is already Perda No. 5/2021, the anti-mariq kodek movement, the TPKS Law, the implementation of these various regulations is still a peer whose implementation needs to be strengthened. We will continue to work, one of which is through the evaluation of the regional action plan for preventing child marriage, of course, to ensure that this child marriage prevention program does not end here,” Nunung added.
Involving Children and Youth to Prevent Child Marriage
Youth participation in breaking the tradition of child marriage is key in the form of peer educators. This approach provides a space for building young people’s capacities and abilities and for their opinions to be heard.
Aura, one of Gema Cita’s peer educators and Youth Advocate, expressed the changes in herself and her community since joining in 2022. Since joining the SRA team and becoming a peer educator, Aura has learned to communicate school problems to teachers who previously acted violently. Now, after discussions and approaches, Aura and her friends are trusted to lead important activities at school.
“Our role as peer educators is very much supported at school. We are even involved as the SRA team, especially in handling cases. Since the SRA was formed and active, cases of unwanted pregnancies have decreased, children remain in school and we even seek to educate the impact of child marriage at the family level,” said Aura.
Present from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KPPPA), Suhaeni, responded that the entire problem of child marriage in NTB province can be resolved if all stakeholders do real work for themselves and the environment around them.
“We cannot work alone, of course all stakeholders must work and synergize together,” added Suhaeni.
This was welcomed by Dr. Mutmainnah, M.PMat, Head of the Socio-Cultural Division of the West Lombok Regency Bappeda, who is committed to assisting awiq-awiq to prevent child marriage in 22 villages, and targets that by 2025 awiq-awiq will already exist in all villages in West Lombok Regency.
The workshop held today (18/09) at the NTB Province Human Resource Development Agency (BPSDMD) office involved program participants and other development partners in West Lombok District including KPPPA, Sukabumi Provincial Government who shared lessons learned, various provincial and district level OPDs, village governments, children’s forums, SRA and PATBM teams and religious and traditional leaders.
