I want to talk about a specific topic that may have become a long-time silent issue. That is an unintended or unwanted pregnancy. Unfortunately, I cannot find a comprehensive national prevalence rate for unwanted pregnancy in Indonesia because nationally representative data is explicitly stated as difficult to find and is also a recognized policy gap.
As far as I know, this issue has become silent because of cycles of inadequate education, limited healthcare access, and enduring emotional and economic consequences, particularly for women and adolescents. An unwanted pregnancy is deeply rooted in social norms and moral codes around sexuality and marriage in Indonesia. Our culture and norms are widely condemned for premarital sex and pregnancy outside marriage, which are seen as moral failures.
Adolescents facing unwanted pregnancies often experience expulsion from schools, ostracization by families, and community exclusion, leading to depression and suicidal ideation. Because of this stigma, many women conceal pregnancies or avoid seeking reproductive healthcare altogether, reinforcing the cycle of silence.
Furthermore, Indonesia’s high rate of unwanted pregnancies is not only a matter of social stigma, religious norms, or culture, but also shaped by low contraceptive uptake, especially male participation, and severely restricted abortion access. According to the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey, 9.3% of young married women aged 15-24 have an ‘’unmet need’’ for a contraceptive– they want to avoid pregnancy but cannot access the means to do so (Gayatri & Fajarningtyas, 2023).
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A woman’s lack of autonomy is a primary driver of this crisis. Research shows that when decisions about a woman’s access to healthcare are made by “someone else in the family,” she is 3.5 times more likely to have an unmet need for contraception (Gayatri & Fajarningtyas, 2023). This is the statistical face of patriarchy: a woman’s body, controlled by others.
The consequences have become worse when almost 80% of abortions in Indonesia are unsafe (Withers & Browner, 2012). A national study estimated that 2 million abortions occur each year, with one-third of them involving single women (Utomo & McDonald, 2009). For young women facing their first pregnancy, the proportion who resort to abortion is even higher—up to 60% in some districts (Utomo & McDonald, 2009).
And where are the men in this equation? Largely absent. While 94.7% of men approve of family planning in theory, only 8% actually use a contraceptive method themselves (Rahayu et al., 2023). The rest leave the physical burden, the side effects, and the social risk to their wives. Family planning, we tell ourselves, is “women’s business.” As one male respondent in a recent study stated bluntly, “Men have high egos, they don’t want to take contraception, so just tell their wives” (Rahayu et al., 2023).
Together, these create a reproductive trap for women, such as limited prevention options, minimal partner involvement, and almost no safe exit once pregnancy occurs.
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To make the context of the unwanted pregnancy case in Indonesia easier, let’s try with this story and analogy.
She is 17 years old. She is a student, a daughter, and an Indonesian citizen old enough to vote. But last month, she discovered she was pregnant. The father is also young and has suddenly disappeared. Now, she faces a terrifying choice.
If she were 16 and married, the law would consider her a responsible adult. She could access contraception and government health services. But because she is single, she is a sinner. She will be expelled from school. Her family will face shame. Her only option, in the shadows, is to find an untrained provider who will perform an unsafe abortion. She has a significant risk of death.
This is not a rare tragedy. It is the direct, predictable outcome of a system we have built.
The Call to Action
I want you to imagine something.
Imagine the girl in that story above is your daughter. Imagine it is your sister. Put yourself in her shoes or your student’s shoes and see her hands shaking and her future crumbling when she looks at a positive pregnancy test. Imagine the fear of knowing she couldn’t talk to her parents, and feel the shame of knowing she’d be expelled from school. But to be looking for someone, for anyone, who could help her, and to find no one
Now, imagine a different story.
Imagine she then goes to school and the teacher breaks down, without judgment, how her body works, how it’s okay to say no, how to respect and what a relationship should be. Just imagine she knows that if she becomes sexually active, she can obtain contraception without fear, and if the unthinkable were to occur, she can go to a clinic where a trained professional offers her non-judgmental care, where her life is valued more than her ‘honor’.
Imagine if her parents said, “We will get through this together.” Imagine if her school said, “You made a mistake, but you are still worthy of an education.” Imagine if her community said, ”We will support you, not stone you.” Imagine if we could be that support for every child. Imagine.
This is not a fantasy. This is what happens in countries that have chosen evidence over ideology, compassion over condemnation. This is what happens when leaders lead, instead of hiding behind the “safety of inaction.”
This is the Indonesia we could be.
But it’s not going to be fate that closes this story, it’s going to be us. By what we demand. By what we tolerate. By whose lives we value.
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To the girl reading this: Your body is yours. Your future is yours. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, but do your research. Find your voice. Support your friends. You are not alone.
To the mother and father reading this: Talk to your children. It will be uncomfortable. You will stammer your speech. Do it anyway. Silence isn’t protection. Information is.
To the teacher reading this: you see the signs. You know which students fall behind, are absent for weeks, and come back a changed person. Reach out. Create a safe space in your classroom. You may be the only adult they trust.
To the government official reading this: You know the data. You cannot claim ignorance. 9.3% is not a statistic, it is millions of women. And 2 million abortions are not a statistic, they are stories, dreams, lives. You have the power to change the laws, to fund the clinics, to train the providers. History will judge you not by your intentions, but by your actions.
To the man reading this: Ask yourself honestly—when was the last time you talked to your partner about contraception? When was the last time you offered to take responsibility? When was the last time you challenged a friend who said family planning is “women’s business”? Step up. The women in your life are waiting.
To all of us: We must stop being bystanders. We must demand reproductive health education in every school. We must demand contraception access for every person who needs it. We must demand safe abortion services for every woman who faces an unwanted pregnancy. We must demand that our leaders stop retreating and start taking action.
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The 17-year-old girl I described at the beginning of this article is not a statistic. She is not a hypothetical. She is real. She is everywhere. She is waiting for us to decide whose side we are on.
Let us make her a promise: that we will stop debating her body and start protecting her life. That we will stop hiding behind tradition and start building a future where she can thrive. That we will stop being silent and start being her voice until she finds her own.
Her right to choose a healthy future is not a threat to our values. It is the very definition of humanity.
References:
Gayatri, M., & Fajarningtyas, D. N. (2023). Unmet need for contraception among young women: Evidence from Indonesia. Journal of Population and Social Studies, 31, 170-185.
Rahayu, S., Romadlona, N. A., Utomo, B., Aryanty, R. I., Liyanto, E., Hidayat, M., & Magnani, R. J. (2023). Reassessing the level and implications of male involvement in family planning in Indonesia. BMC Women’s Health, 23(1), 220.
Utomo, I. D., & McDonald, P. (2009). Adolescent reproductive health in Indonesia: Contested values and policy inaction. Studies in Family Planning, 40(2), 133-146.
