As many as 14 million child brides – some as young as 10 – are forced to marry in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region every year, a new report has claimed.
According to the Plan International Australia report, up to 39,000 girls under the age of 18 are married off every day and it’s happening right under our noses.
“It’s definitely happening here. Often the girls are taken overseas for the marriage; they may or may not return immediately. They may return many years later,” Plan chief executive Ian Wishart told News Corp.
“Teachers will often report that a young girl simply doesn’t return to school after semester break and it’s very difficult to establish why, but she’s just disappeared.”
Mr Wishart said the Children’s and Youth L aw Centre had identified 250 cases of children being forced to marry with the Immigrant Women’s Health Service reporting 60 child brides in NSW alone.
Elia, 14, whose surname is withheld, is said in the report to have been married in Australia to an older man.
When she tried to return to study after the marriage her husband burnt her homework and forced her to drop out of school.
“There are parents who still have very strong stereotypes for their girls and there are parents who still think their children are owned, more or less, like property. And those two beliefs will drive those parents to take those decisions,” Mr Wishart said, adding that a common misunderstanding is that religious practice is to blame.
“They often believe they are acting in the best interests of their young girl.”
Mr Wishart called on the federal government to commit to ending child marriage and the United Nations to include the issue in its post-2015 development goals.
source: ninemsn.com.au
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 