Child Brides

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:14): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about child brides in Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: The issue of child brides has increasingly become an issue in Australia, especially in more recent times, where young girls are being married to, in some cases, older men in Australia, but in most cases they are being sent from Australia to international locations to be married, and one would expect against their will, given their very young age.

The AFP is currently investigating yet another report of a nine-year-old girl being sent to a Middle Eastern country for a suspected arranged marriage. Thankfully, the AFP has extensive powers to prevent children and young people from being forcibly removed from the country providing they have advance notice of a potential issue.

Whilst the primary mode of investigation is at a federal level, there is no doubt that the state level plays a significant role in the protection and education of these women and very young vulnerable children. My questions to the minister are:

1. What training, if any, has been provided for schools, local agencies, women's networks and the police force to ensure early identification and potential identification and intervention where necessary of potential child bride victims?

2. What education programs, if any, are planned or currently being provided to women, children and young people so they are aware of their rights and the systems in place that are available to protect them should they become aware of these instances around them?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:16): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Child marriage, as we know, robs girls of their childhood. It can have severe health implications and, of course, can really crush their hopes and dreams and severely impact their access to education and other opportunities. We know that when a girl is married young the data shows that she is more likely to experience violence, physical and sexual abuse, and poor sexual and reproductive health.

Plan International defines child marriage as 'any marriage—whether under civil, religious or customary law, and with or without formal registration—where either one or both spouses are children under the age of 18'. Unlike many countries, Australia has laws in place to protect children from forced marriage; however, we know that there are many cases of child marriage that are unofficial and therefore not registered and hidden from authorities.

As marriage is enshrined in the Australian constitution, offences related to child and forced marriage are legislated by the Australian government and obviously apply right across the country. In February of this year the Australian parliament passed the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People Trafficking) Act of 2013 which amended the commonwealth Criminal Code to recognise forced marriage as a serious form of exploitation and crime. The offences apply to a range of marriage and marriage-like relationships, including things like registered relationships and those formed by cultural and religious ceremonies.

In terms of some of the protections that are in place, the commonwealth Criminal Code obviously is in place that prohibits child marriage. The Marriage Act permits a marriage where a person is aged between 16 and 18 where there is both parental consent, obviously, and an Australian court order is in force from a judge or magistrate authorising marriage.

Australia also has in place civil measures to help prevent children being taken overseas for the purposes of exploitation, and the Australian Federal Circuit Court can make orders to prevent a passport being issued or require a person to deliver a child or accompanying adult's passport to the court, and that restrains the removal of a child from Australia and places the child's name on an airport watch list.

In South Australia, although we do not have legislation that currently refers specifically to forced child marriage, a victim of forced or civil marriage may be subject to specific conduct that could be covered by an existing offence in South Australia. For example, a forced marriage may involve child abuse, domestic violence, rape, abduction or kidnap.

Physical restrictions may also be imposed on the victim that may amount to an offence of false imprisonment. Situations may also include confiscation, destruction or theft of a passport or other belongings of the victim. Obviously, it is an offence in South Australia to take away or detain a person against their will, and we have legislation that makes it an offence for a person to employ, engage, cause or permit a child to provide or to continue to provide commercial sexual services, and that offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The law, though, is just one part of a broader social response. The Red Cross in South Australia has established a human trafficking and forced marriage SA agencies network to discuss how agencies can continue to work together to address the issue of human trafficking and forced marriage in South Australia. The Australian government also provides funding to the Australian Red Cross for the Support for Trafficked People Program. That program provides a range of information and advice to the general public, and it provides comprehensive and intensive support to any person identified by a law enforcement agency as a potential victim of forced marriage.

In 2014, Anti Slavery Australia received Australian government funding for an e-learning course on human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices, including forced labour and forced marriage. The course is designed for the wider Australian community and frontline workers, including teachers, counsellors, healthcare workers, child protection officers and law enforcement. In addition, the Australian government's National Roundtable on Human Trafficking and Slavery has established a specific working group to develop best practice standards in awareness-raising materials for Australian communities.