Social Justice Corner: The Disturbing

The Disturbing Reality of Child Marriage in Australia

Saeren Ozdemir

In 2011, the Federal Magistrates Court placed a sixteen-year-old girl on the Airport Watch List to prevent her parents from forcibly marrying her of in Lebanon. Despite the case’s successful outcome, the Court in Madley v Madley [2011] uncovered a dark and disturbing presence of modern-day human trafcking and slavery that had never been dealt with before. Nine years later, child marriage continues to be a secretive, and developing, crisis in Australian society.

The ofence of forced child marriage was introduced in 2013 through amendments made to the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). The provisions include anyone under the age of eighteen as victims of forced marriage, except where the Court has permitted those over the age of sixteen, with parental approval, to marry. Under s 270.7B, child marriage is considered an aggravated ofence that is punishable up to nine years in prison. Victims can also seek a protection order under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) against anyone involved. Despite these amendments, there have been no successful prosecutions since their introduction. This is in contrast to the increasing reports made each year to the Australian Federal Police, with last year resulting in 91 reported cases concerning child marriage. The real fgure is suggested to be signifcantly greater, which highlights where the law fails to both prevent and protect victims of underage marriage.

Existing frameworks fail to address the circumstances of the victims and their needs. Whilst national frameworks ofer support and assistance to victims, including the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children, victims will often fail to report those involved. According to the Research Report on the Forced Marriage of Children in Australia, the persons involved are usually victims’ parents and family members.

Reasons for marriage may stem from cultural, social or economic factors, such as pressure to uphold tradition, or to sponsor their spouses’ immigration. These children usually sufer extreme pressure and manipulation from their families. Types of abuse experienced by victims involve psychological, physical and emotional exploitation.

This mistreatment forces victims to accept the marriage and to not seek assistance. The victim often feels powerless against the impending marriage, especially where other members of their family or community are involved, and where their safety or wellbeing is threatened by refusing the marriage. Victims are often in an extremely vulnerable position and dependent upon their parents. Thus, victims are usually unwilling to report their parents and seek protection orders.

Even where the child would seek protection, many marriages are understaken overseas without the victim’s prior knowledge. The ‘trip’ is usually disguised as a family holiday, and victims are pressured by their international isolation to accept the marriage. This is considered a form of human trafcking, and the ofence is punishable up to twenty-fve years in prison under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). However, limited resources available to the child mean that many instances of international marriage involving Australian children are never prosecuted.

Australia remains plagued by the exploitive practice of child marriage. Whilst the laws have been signifcantly improved to protect victims, many still remain vulnerable to underage marriage and experience abuse. To reduce the rising statistics of child marriage in Australia, the national framework needs to be redeveloped to address the needs and circumstances of victims.