Report details abuse of forced marriage victims living in Australia

Australian Institute of Criminology research released this month found stakeholders battling forced marriage were generally supportive of its 2013 criminalisation but were undecided as to whether it worked in actually preventing the practice.

The report noted its criminalisation meant victims might feel afraid to report their marriage for fear of jeopardising family relations, exclusion from their community and/or their personal safety.

Community education was required to trigger change, the report said. Stakeholders agreed it was likely to be a long-term challenge, similar to change attitudes to family violence.

And the report warned: "Success is ... likely to be limited if education does not address the perceived practical reasons for forced marriage.

"Practical considerations that are used to rationalise forced marriage may appear incongruous but are often tied to traditional and strongly-held values. Some of these are not necessarily intrinsically negative or harmful, such as the desire to sustain family connections and reinforce social unity.

"It is the misappropriation of these values in order to enforce conformity and defend principles that produces harm."

The institute examined 13 cases of forced marriage - referring to marriages where consent was not given or irrelevant - for its report.

All victims were girls married between 14 and 21. None were born in Australia or New Zealand, instead hailing from South Asia, African and the Pacific. Eight were Muslims, two atheists, one Hindu and two of unknown religion.

Stakeholders acknowledged forced marriage was more visible in families and communities characterised by conservatism and a strict adherence to social pressures leading to conformist behaviours.

Some parents believed they were providing their child with a better life, researchers were told.

"Stakeholders believed that, in some instances, parents made the decision to force their child into a marriage because ‘they are relatives, and they have money, and they have businesses, and we can assist our children to have a better life’," the report said.

"Therefore, ‘a lot of the parents really do think it’s for their children’s own good,’ especially if they are ‘coming from a poorer family and marrying up,’ or if they are ‘from a non-Western country and marrying into a family that lives in a Western country’."

Victims detailed shocking instances of abuse. One girl was forced to marry a man when she was 14 having fallen pregnant to him after he raped her.

Another woman's husband forced her to watch then reenact porn every night. He also forced her to have sex while menstruating and regularly masturbated in front of her, threatening to kill himself and becoming physically violent if she refused sex.

"As a result of the ongoing sexual abuse, this victim/survivor suffered from poor sexual and reproductive health, as well as chronic back pain," the report said.

The Australian Federal Police has received two referrals for forced marriage in the ACT since its criminalisation. There were 232 referrals nationwide, including 49 between July 1, 2017, and April 30 this year.

"It is important to acknowledge that most of the referrals to the AFP involve circumstances where the forced marriage has not yet occurred," an AFP spokesman said.

"This means that an offence against Australian law may not have been committed. In these circumstances, where there is a pending forced marriage, the AFP will take steps to prevent that marriage ... occurring.

"This may be as simple as speaking with, or empowering, potential victims and providing them with strategies for protecting themselves. The AFP may also, if considered appropriate, speak with an affected person’s parents and intervene before an offence occurs.

"Other strategies can be implemented to prevent forced marriage that does not involve a criminal prosecution."

The Salvation Army Freedom Partnership's national policy and advocacy coordinator Heather Moore said the anti-trafficking body was working with civil groups and the government to increase awareness "and hopefully get a better sense of the potential problem". Awareness led to increased referrals, she said.

"We have seen a steady increase in referrals of domestic works fleeing diplomatic residences [since media attention on the issue]," she said.

"Domestic workers and victims of forced marriages constitute a larger number of people seeking assistance in the ACT."