The Role of School Prevention Efforts in Early Marriage in the Ponjong District

Abstract

In 2021-2030 estimated to reach 15.1 million per year in the world will occur before 18 years old. One in ten Indonesian women married under 10 years old. Special Region of Yogyakarta is the one province that still occurred the incidence of the former marriage. Gunungkidul Regency had the highest rate of it when compared with other districts. This study describes the role of schools in preventing former marriage. The research was a descriptive qualitative in January 2020 at the Junior High School 8 Ponjong District of Gunungkidul, Special Region of Yogyakarta. There was 8 head-master for the key informant and 8 students for supporting informant. Collected data with in-depth interviews and documentation studies. Data analysis interactive model of Miles and Huberman. The role of the school to prevent early marriages performed by enhancing the knowledge, supervision by a teacher, and cross-sectoral cooperation. PHC was a related institution instrumental in the prevention of early marriage. A variety of extracurricular activities at school also support to prevent early marriages. The school had an important role in the prevention of early marriage.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Adolescents’ Sexual and Reproductive Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…Our findings suggest that school teachers and management acted as a protective factor, who supported adolescents’ education and prevented early child marriages, but, due to the lockdown, teachers remained away from schools, consequently increasing the rates of early marriage [ 14 ]. Other studies also support our findings, where teachers proved vital in making home visits to monitor students’ daily life activities, remained aware of their problems, and supported students’ education through parental involvement [ 40 ]. In addition, schools also engage students in extracurricular activities to fill their free time and help them grow their talents and interests beyond academia.…”

“…The findings of our study suggest that schools have been playing a major role in delaying early marriages and adolescent pregnancies, and the closure of schools during the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on adolescents’ health. Child marriages can result in serious health consequences, including early and high-risk pregnancy, which may increase the risk of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality [ 40 , 41 ]. It can also isolate girls from their family and social network, resulting in dropouts from schools, and exclude them from participating in their communities, which may drastically affect their mental health and overall well-being [ 42 ].…”

“…In addition, schools also engage students in extracurricular activities to fill their free time and help them grow their talents and interests beyond academia. Such strategies prevent students from entering into a relationship with the opposite sex and indirectly keep them away from early marriages and other sexual activities [ 40 ]. With the closure of schools during COVID-19, several critical services became inaccessible for adolescents that were previously provided by the schools, including school-based healthcare services and essential resources programs [ 44 ], which also contributed to early marriages and adolescent pregnancies.…”