4.1
This chapter focuses on Australia’s bilateral work to further the elimination of child and forced marriage globally, particularly through the provision of official development assistance (ODA). Advocacy undertaken by the Australian Government in multilateral fora is discussed in Chapter 6.
4.2
The Committee heard that the delivery of official development assistance is informed by the drivers of child and forced marriage, by way of contributing to changing norms and primary prevention efforts. This chapter also provides a brief description of some of the drivers, as raised by inquiry participants.
4.3
In the Australian domestic context, the need to focus on addressing the drivers of child and forced marriage was acknowledged. The Australian Border Force (ABF) stated that ‘Australia has a very strong criminal framework around offences and criminal framework around practice but there is recognition that more needs to be done with respect to civil remedies and other avenues to try to prevent forced marriage from occurring in the first place.’
4.4
The need to focus on primary prevention was also acknowledged in the global context. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) stated that its funding supports organisations whose ‘focus is advocacy at the community level to shift attitudes and identify those at risk of child and forced marriage.’ DFAT stated that globally there are a ‘multitude of drivers’ of child and forced marriage:
While many countries have prohibited or criminalised the practice, the child and forced marriage continues due to a multitude of drivers such as:
dominant cultural practices,
weak regulation or enforcement of existing laws,
limited access for girls to education,
limited opportunities for women’s political involvement, and
limited human rights protections for women and girls.
4.5
DFAT acknowledged that ‘direct engagement by a foreign government’ at the ‘intersection of culture, religion, and human rights’ presented by child and forced marriage issues ‘requires sensitive navigation of the local context and careful consideration of appropriate engagement, in particular with local civil society organisations.
4.6
Family Planning NSW stated ‘the vast majority of policy measures that aim to address child forced marriage focus on prohibition, as opposed to prevention. While prohibition is essential given the significant human rights implications of child forced marriage, prevention is critical.’
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
4.7
DFAT stated that ‘UNICEF predicts that the pandemic will lead to an additional 10 million child marriages over the next decade, as COVID-19 is exacerbating the five main drivers of child marriage which are: interrupted education, economic shocks, disrupted social services, pregnancy and the death of a parent.’
4.8
DFAT released in May 2020 its Partnerships for Recovery strategy, which ‘sets out how the Australian overseas development program will tackle the impacts of COVID-19 in the Indo-Pacific.’ DFAT elaborated that this strategy aims to address gender equality challenges:
According to UN Women and UNDP, an estimated 47 million women could drop below the poverty line as a result of this pandemic. … In recognition of the rising challenges for women and girls in particular, the [Partnerships for Recovery] strategy has gender equality as a cross-cutting objective.
4.9
DFAT highlighted the example of pandemic impacts in Bangladesh, where ‘gender-based violence has also increased among married adolescent girls (35 per cent) during the COVID-19 imposed lockdown compared to their unmarried peers (16 per cent).’
4.10
Anti-Slavery Australia identified that:
COVID-19 has seen the closure of international borders, caps on international arrivals, increasing prices and decreased availability of flights, and the need to pay for quarantine costs upon returning to Australia. This is compounded by lockdowns in countries individuals are located in, further restricting their ability to leave situations of danger.
4.11
Countries with a high rate of child forced and marriage were identified by the Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH) as ‘countries that are struggling with structural poverty.’ ACRATH stated its belief that ‘COVID is going to exacerbate that rather than relieve it.’
4.12
Walk Free stated that ‘the gains made in educating girls and reducing risk of child marriages over the last decade have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as prolonged school closures makes the prospect of child marriage more attractive the longer children are out of school.’
Education and economic empowerment
4.13
Inquiry participants emphasised that improved education rates are correlated with a reduction of risk of child and forced marriage. Inquiry participants also spoke about the value of specific education curricula in teaching young adults about their sexual and reproductive health rights.
4.14
DFAT stated that improved access to education increases the age at which girls marry, and increases the likelihood that girls ‘choose their partner’ and ‘marry closer in age.’ DFAT also identified that ‘girls with fewer than seven years’ schooling are more likely to be married by age 18.’
4.15
DFAT also stated that ‘investing in girls’ education is critical in its own right, and has huge multiplier effects’:
Educating girls improves labour market outcomes, reduces poverty, delays marriage, reduces mortality and fertility rates, and increases [Gross Domestic Product (GDP)]. A child whose mother can read is 50 per cent more likely to live past the age of five, 50 per cent more likely to be immunised, and twice as likely to attend school. There is evidence that ensuring that all girls finish secondary education by 2030 could boost GDP by 10 per cent on average over the next decade.
4.16
Walk Free stated ‘educating girls is strongly intertwined with social protection, and can significantly contribute to girls’ safety, wellbeing, and empowerment.’ Walk Free recommended that the Australian Government ‘advocate for the importance of girls’ education to economic growth and social stability throughout all bilateral and diplomatic engagements and invest in programs that increase access to education for adolescent girls.’
4.17
Australian overseas development assistance has been directed towards supporting education outcomes. DFAT stated that ‘Australian funding to Bangladesh in 2019-20 supported over 200,000 girls enrolled to complete primary and pre-primary schooling.’ DFAT further stated that training and support programs to ‘improve employability and build life skills’ were delivered through civil society organisations.
4.18
Education programs supported by the Australian Government have also included child and forced marriage components. ‘Humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees and host communities’ in Bangladesh was stated by DFAT to have included ‘awareness sessions on the risks of early and forced marriage’ as well as support for ‘home learning to ensure girls receive an education’.
4.19
Rates of child and forced marriage are also being used as an indicator to direct additional funding. DFAT stated that ‘the Global Partnership for Education uses rates of early marriage as one of the indicators for countries’ eligibility for additional finance through the Girls’ Education Accelerator.’
4.20
The Australian Government’s Australia Awards program provides scholarships for overseas students to study in Australia. DFAT stated that it has ‘some grant programs for our alumni who have returned from Australia Awards programs in Australia.’ Ms Chartres, DFAT described supporting the work of alumni on advocating on child marriage issues:
I certainly know from my experience and my team’s experience in Nairobi that our alumni were terrific at getting into the grassroots communities, and I worked with quite a few of our alumni, particularly on child marriage and female genital mutilation, on advocacy and seeking change. Being Kenyans, Tanzanians or Ugandans, of course, they were very well placed to be working back within their communities as well as, of course, their day jobs. But, in their spare time, they were very generous at working on these issues as well. We were and still are able to give them some small funding to support them to do that.
4.21
DFAT stated that it was developing ‘a global tracker which with which we not only connect people’ who have participated in the Australia Awards program, but also ‘follow them and work out how they’ve developed within their careers and connect.
4.22
Walk Free identified the work of the Australia Awards program, particularly in Africa, in providing access to education. Walk Free stated, however, ‘that the support needs to go beyond achieving “gender parity of access to the Australia Awards-Africa program” and also support “female awardees on their return to their home countries” to tackle the root drivers of risk driven by gender biases.’
4.23
DFAT pointed to the specific value of sexuality education, and stated that in Nepal, its ‘Comprehensive Sexuality Education Program, with [UN Population Fund (UNFPA)] … is providing adolescent girls and boys with education on their sexual and reproductive health rights and is helping to address harmful social norms regarding child marriage.’ The program is funded between 2020 and 2025.
4.24
Family Planning NSW also emphasised the importance of sexuality education as an early intervention for forced marriage, and stated that:
… child forced marriage can be prevented through the delivery of evidence-based holistic comprehensive sexuality education that provides young girls and their families with skills and information on their rights regarding relationships and health.
4.25
In addition to the delivery of ‘comprehensive sexuality education programs both within schools and through community programs’, Family Planning NSW recommended that ‘sexual health professionals’ be provided with education and resources to help them ‘identify children and young people at risk of child forced marriage’ during the delivery of these programs.
Women’s participation and political involvement
4.26
Limited opportunities for women’s political involvement were described by DFAT as one of the drivers of child and forced marriage. The Australian Government’s National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security 2021-2031 is underpinned by four pillars, including the promotion of ‘women’s full and meaningful participation, and gender equality in peace and security decision-making processes.’
4.27
Ms Guivarra, DFAT Ambassador for Gender Equality, stated that ‘changing social and cultural norms takes decades and it takes continued advocacy efforts at various levels.’ Ms Guivarra elaborated that the ‘whole-of-community effort’ to change norms is supported by women’s rights organisations:
It’s not just a question of advocacy by government officials; it actually does require a whole-of-community effort. That includes the private sector being engaged in these conversations and also civil society groups in particular. And there are a number of very strong women’s rights organisations and women’s organisations in our region that we work with.’
4.28
ACRATH spoke of the need to build cultural norms that allow women to participate equally in local governance. ACRATH provided an example of a woman who ‘stood her ground and … kept pushing to claim her space’ in local governance matters:
We run a kindergarten, a preschool, in Kiribati. It was the first preschool to be run there, and it’s run by local sisters now. It’s important, in the sisters’ interactions with us, that we train them well to be able to address the issues of their own culture in that small school. It’s a beginning. I think that’s where it starts, at that very young age. I can give you an example of a Kiribati sister who spoke out in the local maneaba, where only men ever had the right to speak. She was ostracised for a period, but she stood her ground and she kept pushing to claim her space in that arena. She could do that, probably, because she was a member of a religious order and she had the support from us to do that, but it is very difficult for village women to speak up. So the education has got to start from the ground up.
4.29
DFAT stated that the Australian Government has undertaken efforts to provide platforms at international forums for discussion about women’s issues, which provides to women a ‘safe space to profile these concerns and to give voice to them.’ As an example, DFAT stated at the Commission on the Status of Women it provided to ‘young Pacific women’ the opportunity to ‘talk very openly in an international forum about what the issues were that were affecting them as a result of the impacts of COVID-19.’
4.30
Women’s participation is also important in the specific context of developing child and forced marriage interventions. Walk Free stated ‘the people with lived experience are the people who are going to have the greatest answers to these problems. Often, women are excluded from these dialogues.’
4.31
Anti-Slavery Australia also stated that its work ‘is absolutely grounded in the work of survivors’. Anti-Slavery Australia further explained its project with the Department of Social Services to develop ‘a champions program, which is a form of peer-to-peer leadership.’
Supporting legal and justice sector responses
4.32
‘Weak regulation or enforcement of existing laws, and limited human rights protections for women and girls’ was described by DFAT as additional drivers of child and forced marriage across countries.
4.33
In strengthening legal and justice sector responses to child and forced marriage, DFAT states that its supports ‘advocacy to relevant legislative bodies when laws are being considered with respect to the age of marriage, or laws that might impact the rights of women and girls or other drivers of child and forced marriage.’
4.34
‘A number of examples where there has been over the last decades quite a significant shift in terms of the legislative and regulatory approaches’ across nations were observed by DFAT. DFAT identified, however, variable application of those laws across nations and stated ‘the effect of those laws is dependent on … the cultural norms. It’s also dependent on the ability of law enforcement to be able to engage with and enforce those laws.’
4.35
Walk Free stated that ‘in many countries, social norms devalue girls from birth, and this is reinforced by systemic inequality in both laws and customs. Walk Free further stated that ‘forced marriage laws are rare. Only 50 countries have criminalised forced marriage, and only 30 have set laws setting the minimum age of marriage at 18 years without exception.’
4.36
As an example of direct advocacy work, DFAT stated that it had ‘supported work to change Indonesia’s 1974 Marriage Law to prevent child marriage. In September 2019, Indonesia increased the marriageable age of girls from 16 years to 19 years, in line with the legal age of marriage for men.’
Dominant cultural practices, and working with faith-based communities
4.37
DFAT identified ‘dominant cultural practices’ in a region as a driver for child and forced marriage. Inquiry participants also referred to the importance of working with faith-based communities on the intersection of cultural and religious drivers of child and forced marriage.
4.38
Family Planning NSW stated that ‘in the East South East Asia and Oceania (ESEAO) region, child forced marriage and early union continue to be practiced under the guise of cultural and religious reasons.’
4.39
DFAT stated that its work as part of the Ending Violence Against Women program included ‘working with religious clerics and community groups to shift norms and behaviours.’ DFAT spoke about its work in Afghanistan as part of this program, stating ‘in 2018, female beneficiaries … reported organising women’s groups to arrange marriages based on individual choices, which reduced child and forced marriages in Khost province.’
4.40
DFAT stated its ‘Empowerment through Education’ program was allocated $20.7 million between 2011 to 2020. In Afghanistan this program provided ‘training to targeted community leaders and village education committees’ on a range of areas that ‘aim to address to underlying issues that lead to child, early and forced marriage.’
4.41
Walk Free identified that ‘the Australian Government already has experience working with faith leaders and communities of faith to disrupt norms that devalue women and girls.’ Walk Free advocated for the expansion of ‘the approach taken in the Ending Violence Against Women in Afghanistan and Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development programs by working with faith leaders to remove gender inequality from faith teachings and change attitudes to forced and child marriage in all high-risk countries.’
4.42
The ‘interaction between religion and culture’ was described by ACRATH as ‘very complex’. ACRATH stated that working on forced marriage issues requires ‘looking at the long-term historical cultural issues. They often get confused with the religious side as well, because this happens across all religions.’
4.43
Anti-Slavery Australia highlighted that cultural and religious practices often complicate efforts to remedy forced marriage situations, even if known:
Quite often there might be various cultural or religious factors at play as well. As we’ve touched upon, they might be second-generation girls that have grown up in Australia or they might have arrived in Australia at a young age. But quite often there are various cultural factors at play.
From our experience, when we talk to these individuals, quite often they might be torn between a desire for autonomy and a desire to also preserve those cultural practices as well.
4.44
ACRATH stated that in working with communities, the role of external governments and organisations is ‘to listen. It’s to stay with the culture and help them to identify what the aberrations in their culture are, not for us to come and impose.’
4.45
DFAT stated in Pakistan and Kenya it has provided support to organisations holding policy and community dialogues on child and forced marriage. In Pakistan, DFAT’s support as part of its Ending Violence Against Women program also ‘included a qualitative study of influencers and drivers of child marriage in north-western Pakistan.’
4.46
Walk Free referred to the work of the Global Freedom Network, which ‘aims to raise awareness of modern slavery risks and impact among communities of faith, is working to disseminate modern slavery awareness raising campaigns directly to faith communities.’
Working with community organisations
4.47
The Australian Government has provided funding to community organisations to support programs that provide services to victims, training or raise awareness on child and forced marriage issues. The provision of training for frontline workers in community organisations was described as important.
4.48
Within Australia, the AFP stated that it’s ‘engaged with female leaders through’ its Community Liaison Teams ‘to grow awareness and education on forced marriage.’ The AFP stated:
Although [Community Liaison Teams] are focused on the prevention of terrorism and radicalisation, they allow the AFP to build trust among vulnerable groups in the community. … These community leaders have expressed an interest in working more closely with these teams in future to prevent a broader range of crime types.
4.49
ACRATH stated that the key components of its program include ‘delivering training modules to front line workers in health and education across Australia and the Asia Pacific region.’ ACRATH stated that this training teaches how to identify and support someone who may be facing a forced marriage:
… sharing the data indicating vulnerabilities to forced marriage - highlighting the indicative signs of forced marriage and key actions to take to support someone who may be facing a forced marriage and - training staff to take appropriate steps to lead a victim safely out of a potentially illegal and harmful situation.
4.50
The AFP also detailed that it had established Project SKYWARP, which ‘was delivered in 2019 in partnership with Anti- Slavery Australia, the Sydney Airport Corporation and the ABF’ to help ‘educate the public on indicators of modern slavery and human trafficking and encourage victims and witnesses to seek help from authorities.’
Look a Little Deeper (LALD) training program for frontline responders
4.51
The AFP elaborated that its Look a Little Deeper ‘(LALD) project is a human trafficking and slavery information and awareness program for frontline police and other government agencies.’ The AFP is ‘developing a bespoke version of the LALD package which will specifically focus on education relating to forced marriage’.
4.52
The AFP stated ‘all sworn AFP officers have also been foundation trained through the Look a Little Deeper (LALD) frontline responder program.’ The AFP elaborated that:
The LALD campaign recognises that first responders are likely to encounter potential human trafficking and slavery in the course of their duties, and aims to equip them with the necessary skills to identify and respond to a range of indicators.
4.53
The AFP stated that since March 2019, ‘LALD training has been delivered to 1245 external participants across 66 sessions’. The AFP stated that it also runs this training for community groups and ‘for a number of agencies that are deploying offshore’ and noted that:
… often those communities aren’t aware that in Australia some of these issues are actually a criminal offence. For us, part of our role is, through our community liaison teams and also our human trafficking teams, to actively engage with those communities to educate them and deliver awareness packages about some of those issues through Look a Little Deeper. We also do it for frontline workers across government and in partnership with civil society so that those frontline workers also can be more aware of some of the challenges with these communities in terms of practices with things such as forced marriage.
Concluding comment
4.54
Forced marriage is an issue partially driven by dominant cultural practices in a region, and it is difficult to untangle social, cultural and religious norms across countries. The Committee acknowledges DFAT’s evidence on the careful approach needed when advocating to foreign governments on child and forced marriage, and that working with local NGOs.
4.55
Inquiry participants described the need to work with local communities and local NGOs when pushing for social and cultural change. The Committee acknowledges DFAT’s evidence about community dialogues and studies of drivers in regions that the Australian Government has facilitated.
4.56
In addition to barriers to change presented the pre-existing norms in a country, forced marriage is driven partly by environmental factors. This is seen in the impact that is seen in the early figures of the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in reduced economic security in the region.
4.57
The Committee heard that general advances in gender equality and women’s empowerment can contribute to an environment that reduces the incentives for engagement in child and forced marriage practices. Education, in particular, was described as a critical component in leading to social and economic empowerment.
4.58
Further, the Committee heard that specific sexuality education programs could contribute to ensuring that vulnerable young adults are aware of their rights. Inquiry participants also suggested that training provided to those around young adults, such as teachers and health professionals, could ensure that they can play the role of identifying individuals that may be facing a child and forced marriage situation.
4.59
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government include support for initiatives to eliminate child and forced marriage as part of Australia’s aid program.
4.60
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government continues to support efforts to improve education outcomes for women and girls, particularly in regions with high rates of child and forced marriage.
4.61
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government continues to enhance its engagement with community and faith-based groups both in Australia and globally to hold dialogues and support work in shifting social norms in relation to child and forced marriage.