Jakarta – A recent survey conducted by Plan Indonesia shows that 33.5 percent of children aged between 13 and 18 years of age were forced into marriage, with girls having to bear the violence that often accompanies such cases.

According to the survey that was carried out in eight regencies across five provinces in Indonesia – Indramayu in West Java; Grobongan and Rembang in Central Java; Tabanan in Bali; Dompu in West Nusa Tenggara; and Timor Tengah Selatan, Sikka and Lembata in East Nusa Tenggara – from January to April 2011, 44 percent of the girls forced into underage marriage endured serious domestic violence.

Plan Indonesia gender specialist Bekti Andari told The Jakarta Post that even though the survey did not represent the whole population of the country, the results may reflect a larger picture on child marriage because they echo the National Planning Agency's findings in 2008, which showed that 34.5 percent of the 2,049,000 registered marriages in Indonesia involved children.

She added that the survey found six factors which forced children to marry so early, namely: sexual behavior and unwanted pregnancy; custom and tradition; limited knowledge of reproduction; parents' limited education; limited access economically; and weak law enforcement.

Bekti explained that, in addition to the high rates of domestic violence, marriages involving minors also have a negative impact on female children's education, psychology, social life, economic life, and sexual reproduction. "The risk of death during pregnancy or childbirth is two to four times higher for children between 10 and 18-years-old then among women of between 22 and 25-years-old, or older," she said.

According to Plan Indonesia, only 5.6 percent of female children who were married had the chance to pursue further education.

In order to empower Indonesian children, particularly females, Bekti told the Post that Plan Indonesia is developing a community-based child protection group known as DESA. "There are 140 of these groups spread across the eight regencies where we conducted our research, plus there is one DESA in Surabaya, East Java," she said.

However, Bekti explained that most locals were still reluctant to abolish their traditions, which promote child marriage particularly for girls. "In some areas, parents accept marriage proposals because they are afraid that their daughters will become spinsters," she added.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection told the Post that Plan Indonesia's survey offers an accurate picture of child marriage in Indonesia as the commission has also found a similar situation. "The high divorce rate among young couples can be an indication of the high rate of early marriages," he said. (msa)