Remind or Research Mindedness is an international competition initiated by the Padjadjaran University Communication Studies Program. This competition is under the auspices of Epicentrum Faculty of Communication Science Universitas Padjadjaran which focuses on research. Remind combines research, creative solutions, and strategic planning to find new breakthroughs in solving social problems. This year, Remind carries the theme “Reshaping the Narrative: Innovative Strategies to Eradicate Child Marriage in the Digital Era”, encouraging participants to come up on innovative strategies across various fields of communication to construct narratives that are capable of raising public awareness about child marriage in this digital era.

Reshaping the Narrative: Innovative Strategies to Eradicate Child Marriage in the Digital Era

The phenomenon of child marriage in Southeast Asia has reached a critical point, with an estimated 93 million child brides in the East Asia and Pacific region as of late 2025 (Unicef, 2025). Deep structural inequalities are evident as one in 13 young women in the region are married before the age of 18, with the highest prevalence found in Laos at 33% (Unicef, 2025; ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking, 2024). Indonesia ranks eighth globally in absolute numbers, with approximately 1.2 million women aged 20–24 having married as minors (ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking, 2024). This risk is heavily concentrated among the most vulnerable; girls from the poorest families are eight times more likely to marry before 18 compared to their wealthier peers. This condition is exacerbated by economic shocks, post-pandemic and cultural norms that equate biological maturity with marriage readiness, trapping children in a cycle of intergenerational poverty, school dropouts, and fatal reproductive health risks (Rahiem, 2021). The transition to the digital era has introduced complex new dimensions where technology acts as a double-edged sword. Digital platforms facilitate the normalization of early marriage through social media content that glorifies young married life, alongside increasing risks of online grooming and matchmaking without parental supervision (Am, 2025). While mass media has begun shifting toward solution-oriented advocacy and giving voice to survivors, challenges regarding digital literacy and algorithms that reinforce gender stereotypes continue to obstruct changes in collective public perception (Plan International, 2021). Consequently, there is an urgent need for communication research that can formulate innovative strategies to reconstruct public narratives regarding child marriage in digital spaces. This is a crucial step in addressing these issues, as enhancing public awareness about child marriage in digital era is pivotal in finding solutions. Success in designing evidence-based, inclusive communication strategies is crucial to ensuring every child in Southeast Asia possesses the right to education and a future free from the threat of child marriage.