A psychosociospiritual collaborative governance model with marriage guidance to prevent child marriage in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22373/equality.v11i2.31693Keywords:
Prevention of Child Marriage, Psychosociospiritual Approach, Collaborative Governance, Marriage Guidance, Gender Justice, IndonesiaAbstract
The high prevalence of child marriage in Indonesia has become a pressing issue, not only at the national but also at the global level. Preventive efforts require a collaborative and multi-faceted approach that goes beyond legal regulations and incorporates social, psychological, spiritual dimensions, as well as marriage guidance. This article aims to explore a collaborative psychosocial-spiritual governance model that integrates marriage guidance in the prevention of child marriage in Indonesia. This research was conducted using an exploratory qualitative approach in Jombok Village, Trenggalek, East Java, and Woro Village, Rembang, Central Java. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with various stakeholders including government officials, religious leaders, local psychologists and cultural figures, local activists, NGOs, as well as couples/families experiencing child marriage. The research results indicate that social innovation for preventing child marriage is implemented through the principles of collaborative governance based on a psychosocial-spiritual approach, with multi-level involvement from villages, sub-districts, to districts. Education, mentoring, and marriage counseling programs are carried out in stages, encompassing social assistance based on child protection, psychological support, and strengthening religious values. This approach demonstrates that effective prevention strategies are not only focused on formal regulations but also on value transformation, community capacity building, and creating an ecosystem that supports children's rights. The overall efforts aim at preventing child marriage in a more holistic, inclusive, gender-just manner, and contextualized with the local values of Indonesian society.
References
Ahmady, K. (2021). The role of temporary marriage (TM) in promoting early child marriage (ECM) in Iran. Temporary and Child Marriages in Iran and Afghanistan, 47–66. Singapore: Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4469-3_3
Ansell, C., & Gash, A. (2008). Collaborative governance in theory and practice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(4), 543–571. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum032
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469-480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
Badan Pusat Statistik. (2020). Pencegahan Perkawinan Anak Percepatan yang Tidak Bisa Ditunda. Badan Pusat Statistik bekerjasama dengan Kementrian PPN/Bappenas, Unicef dan PUSKAPA.
Bakhurst, M. G., Loew, B., McGuire, A. C. L., Halford, W. K., & Markman, H. J. (2017). Relationship Education for Military Couples: Recommendations for Best Practice. Family Process, 56(2), 302-316. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12211
Bappenas. (2020). Strategi nasional pencegahan perkawinan anak. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 53(9), xi–78. https://www.unicef.org/indonesia/media/2856/file/National-Strategy-ChildMarriage-2020.pdf
Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (2021). From the social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. The New Economic Sociology: A Reader, 110-122. https://doi.org/10.2307/1385127
Bhowmik, J., Biswas, R. K., & Hossain, S. (2021). Child marriage and adolescent motherhood: A nationwide vulnerability for women in Bangladesh. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), 4030. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084030
Brauner-Otto, S. R., & Pearce, L. (2020). The gendered relationship between parental religiousness and children’s marriage timing. Sociology of Religion, 81(4), 413–438. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/sraa014
Butler, J. (2011). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203824979
Butler, J. (2022). Selection from gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. In The Transgender Studies Reader Remix, 191-201. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003206255-21
Chesler, E., & McGovern, T. (2015). Women and girls rising: Progress and resistance around the world. Women and Girls Rising: Progress and Resistance around the World, 32-50. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315708379
Connell, R. (2012). Gender, health and theory: Conceptualizing the issue, in local and world perspective. Social Science and Medicine, 74(11), 1675-1683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.06.006
Ellison, C. G., & Xu, X. (2014). Religion and families. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families, 277–299. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118374085.ch14
Emerson, K., Nabatchi, T., & Balogh, S. (2012). An integrative framework for collaborative governance. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 22(1), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mur011
Grijns, M., & Horii, H. (2018). Child marriage in a village in West Java (Indonesia): Compromises between legal obligations and religious concerns. Asian Journal of Law and Society, 5(2), 453–466. https://doi.org/10.1017/als.2018.9
Hajihasani, M., & Sim, T. (2019). Marital satisfaction among girls with early marriage in Iran: emotional intelligence and religious orientation. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 24(3), 297–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2018.1528167
Halford, W. K., Markman, H. J., Kline, G. H., & Stanley, S. M. (2003). Best practice in couple relationship education. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. 29(3), 385-406. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2003.tb01214.x
Horii, H. (2020). Legal reasoning for legitimation of child marriage in west java: accommodation of local norms at Islamic courts and the paradox of child protection. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 12(3), 501-523. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huaa041
Judiasih, S. D., Rubiati, B., Yuanitasari, D., Salim, E. F., & Safira, L. (2020). Efforts to eradicate child marriage practices in Indonesia: Towards sustainable development goals. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 21(6), 135-149.
Kalmijn, M., & Kraaykamp, G. (2018). Determinants of cultural assimilation in the second generation. A longitudinal analysis of values about marriage and sexuality among Moroccan and Turkish migrants. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 44(5), 697–717. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1363644
Kamal, S. M. M., Hassan, C. H., Alam, G. M., & Ying, Y. (2015). Child marriage in Bangladesh: trends and determinants. Journal of Biosocial Science, 47(1), 120–139. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932013000746
Kirana, P. D., & Nisak, Q. (2022). The role of UNICEF in addressing child marriage issues in Indonesia. Gender Equality: International Journal of Child and Gender Studies, 8(2), 216-229. https://doi.org/10.22373/equality.v8i2.14029
Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (2005). Choices in relationships: An introduction to marriage and the family. California: Thomson Wadsworth.
Kohno, A., Techasrivichien, T., Pilar Suguimoto, S., Dahlui, M., Nik Farid, N. D., & Nakayama, T. (2020). Investigation of the key factors that influence the girls to enter into child marriage: A meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence. PLoS ONE, 15(7), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235959
Kooij, Y. Van Der. (2016). Early Marriage in West Java : Understanding Girls Agency in The Context Of Traditional and Changing Norms Regarding Gender and Sexuality. Mater's Thesis. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam
Mackinnon, C. (2023). Toward a feminist theory of the state. Feminisms. Massachusetts, USA: Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192892706.003.0060
Mahmuddin, M., Mansari, M., & Melayu, H. A. (2023). Community’s role in preventing child marriage: An analysis of models and community compliance with village policies. Gender Equality: International Journal of Child and Gender Studies, 9(2), 235-244. https://doi.org/10.22373/equality.v9i2.19673
Manga, E. (2022). Child marriage and sexularism in Sweden: Constructing the nation racializing migrants. Critical Research on Religion, 10(2), 170–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/20503032221075379
Matlabi, H. (2013). Factors responsible for early and forced marriage in Iran. Science Journal of Public Health, 1(5), 227-229. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20130105.17
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). An expanded sourcebook: Qualitative data analysis (2nd Edition). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.
Mobolaji, J. W., Fatusi, A. O., & Adedini, S. A. (2020). Ethnicity, religious affiliation and girl-child marriage: A cross-sectional study of nationally representative sample of female adolescents in Nigeria. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 583. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08714-5
Muhith, A., Fardiansyah, A., Saputra, M. H., & Nurmiyati. (2018). Analysis of causes and impacts of early marriage on madurese Sumenep East Java Indonesia. Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development, 9(8), 1495-1499. https://doi.org/10.5958/0976-5506.2018.00944.0
Mursyid, S., & Yusuf, N. (2022). Changes in marriage age limits and marriage dispensations: A study of causes and impacts on the religious courts in North Sulawesi. Samarah, 6(2), 975-996. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v6i2.12439
Pakasi, D. T., Hidayana, I. M., Van Der Kwaak, A., & Benedicta, G. D. (2024). Young women’s agency and the social navigation of divorce from child marriage in West Java, central java, and west Lombok, Indonesia. Asian Women, 40(2), 95–121. https://doi.org/10.14431/aw.2024.6.40.2.95
Patel, V. (2022). Gender in world perspective. Gender, Place & Culture, 29(6). Taylor & Francis Online. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369x.2021.1954407
Pew Research Center. (2016). Marriage laws around the world. Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015, 1–36.
Putri Efendi, D. A., & Wahyuningsih, S. (2024). Understanding gender injustice in early marriage: Challenges faced by women. Gender Equality: International Journal of Child and Gender Studies, 10(1), 91-103. https://doi.org/10.22373/equality.v10i1.22510
Rumble, L., Peterman, A., Irdiana, N., Triyana, M., & Minnick, E. (2018). An empirical exploration of female child marriage determinants in Indonesia. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 407. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5313-0
Saeed, A. (2005). Interpreting the Qur’an: Towards a contemporary approach. In Interpreting the Qur’an: Towards a Contemporary Approach, 208. Oxford: Taylor & Francis . https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203016770
Santrock, J. W. (2019). Adolescence (17th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Sekine, K., & Hodgkin, M. E. (2017). Effect of child marriage on girls’ school dropout in Nepal: Analysis of data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014. San Francisco, California: PloS one, 12(7), e0180176. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180176
Septiarum, R., Suwarni, L., & Alamsyah, D. (2019). Unwanted pregnancies and early marriage child aged 13-18 years. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, 10(12), 1792-1797. https://doi.org/10.37506/v10/i12/2019/ijphrd/192125
Sofiani, T. (2022). The strategic policy of child marriage prevention on gender-integrated (strengthening best practice areas toward child marriage-free zones). Muwazah, 14(2), 229-254. https://doi.org/10.28918/muwazah.v14i2.6111
Solodyankina, E. S., & Polishchuk, M. A. (2021). Features of gender stereotypes of the izhevsk’s youth in the family relations. Вестник Удмуртского Университета. Социология. Политология. Международные Отношения, 5(4), 438-445. https://doi.org/10.35634/2587-9030-2021-5-4-438-445
Stanley, S. M., Carlson, R. G., Rhoades, G. K., Markman, H. J., Ritchie, L. L., & Hawkins, A. J. (2020). Best Practices in Relationship Education Focused on Intimate Relationships. Family Relations, 69(3), 497-519. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12419
Steinhaus, M., & Thompson, L. M. (2020). Child Marriage in the United States : A synthesis of evidence on the prevalence & impact child marriage is happening in the US at rates that merit further attention and scrutiny. ICRW (International Center for Research o Woman), August.
Studer, M., Liefbroer, A. C., & Mooyaart, J. E. (2018). Understanding trends in family formation trajectories: An application of Competing Trajectories Analysis (CTA). Advances in Life Course Research, 36, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2018.02.003
Subramanee, S. D., Agho, K., Lakshmi, J., Huda, M. N., Joshi, R., & Akombi-Inyang, B. (2022). Child Marriage in South Asia: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(22), 15138. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215138
Syihab, M. B. (2023). Telaah kritis pemikiran jasser auda dalam buku “Maqasid Al-Shariah as philosophy of Islamic law: A systems approach.” AN NUR: Jurnal Studi Islam, 15(1), 114-136. https://doi.org/10.37252/annur.v15i1.455
Tobing, R. D. (2018). Prevention of child marriage age in the perspective of human rights. Sriwijaya Law Review, 2(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.28946/slrev.Vol2.Iss1.107.pp1-17
Uecker, J. E., Regnerus, M. D., & Vaaler, M. L. (2007). Losing my religion: The social sources of religious decline in early adulthood. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 85(4), 1667-1692. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4495003 Losing My R. Social Forces, 85(4), 1667–1692.
UNESCO. (2019). School violence and bullying a major global issue, new UNESCO publication finds. In UNESCO.
UNFPA. (2013). Child marriage in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Regional overview. 1.
UNICEF. (2018). Child marriage : Latest trends and future prospects. Data in Brief.
UNICEF. (2020). Child marriage around the world. Unicef.
UNICEF. (2023). Child marriage. Unicef.Org.
Utomo, A. J., Reimondos, A., Utomo, I. D., McDonald, P. F., & Hull, T. H. (2016). Transition into marriage in Greater Jakarta: Courtship, parental influence, and self-choice marriage. South East Asia Research, 24(4), 492-509. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967828X16674134
Vik, L. M. (2024). Orienting to marriage, couple & family counseling: integrating adventure-based counseling activities into the classroom. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 19(1), 111-123. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2022.2104769
Watson, M. (2021). Temporary and child marriages: Historical perspectives and contemporary issues in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Temporary and Child Marriages in Iran and Afghanistan, 1–29. Singapore: Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4469-3_1
Wodon, Q. T., Onagoruwa, A. O., & Savadogo, A. (2017). Economic impacts of child marriage: women’s decision making and selected other impacts brief. In The World Bank and International Center for Research on Women.
Zaprulkhan, Z. (2018). Maqāṣid Al-Shariah in the contemporary islamic legal discourse: perspective of Jasser Auda. Walisongo: Jurnal Penelitian Sosial Keagamaan, 26(2), 445-472. https://doi.org/10.21580/ws.26.2.3231
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ningsih Fadhilah, Kustini Kustini, Siti Atieqoh, Rita Pranawati, Andi Muhammad Ridha Rahmatullah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
GENDER EQUALITY: International Journal of Child and Gender Studies allows the author(s) to hold the copyright and to retain the publishing rights without restrictions. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
