Why underage marriage is everybody’s business.

In my three years as Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Women, I saw many shocking situations.  One which shocked me more than most was that of a young girl, barely 13 years old, who had allegedly entered into an “arranged marriage” to a man twice her age.

If this shocks you – and it should – then think of the girls we do not hear about. In the case of the 13 year old, the response from caseworkers and police was swift, but more often the crime is hidden by a towering brick wall of cultural silence.

Let’s take the shocking case of Raina Farrah, an Australian girl taken to Syria and forced into marriage as a teenager. Of course, this prompted a whole lot of questions, many published here on Mamamia.

Trouble is, in communities where forced underage marriage is acceptable or even encouraged, these questions aren’t asked. Mothers don’t ask the police to free their daughters, and fathers don’t ask permission to punish their daughters who disobey.

What happened to Raina – this extraordinary young woman – also happens, we suspect, to other young Australian girls. Taken from school, shipped overseas, married and made pregnant. Returning here to live with their family until miraculously, on their eighteenth birthday, a man arrives from overseas and legally marries her.

It’s all so horrible, but solutions are not simple.

Last month the Premier Mike Baird and I launched with the Federal Government the Second Action Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children. The plan recognises forced underage marriage as an issue that must be addressed by all Australian governments.

This is a great start, but even with a strong Government commitment, changing the attitudes to forced marriage of some in the community will be a huge challenge.  Public awareness campaigns, including at our borders, the provision of help lines and anonymous contact points are important strategies, but will only go so far in those communities willing to condone their crime.

In communities where women are hindered from learning English and knowledge of Australian law, and where contact outside the community is discouraged, it’s not difficult to see how the keepers of these girls stay on top.

It won’t come as a surprise that the answers don’t just rest with Government.  I believe there is more Australian women can do to reach out to women at risk and include them in the everyday activities we take for granted. In that special way women have, it is to up to us to build important personal networks so we can all share those great Australian values that make this country such a desirable place to live.

Surely there will be hundreds of clever ideas out there about how we can build connections and trust and I’m very keen to hear about them. Be part of the solution, and find me on Facebook, or tweet me @PruGoward.

Every girl should have the freedom to make her own choices about what she wants to be and who she chooses to marry, or if she wants to marry at all. And, until that day, she should be free to remain a girl.

Girls and young women who feel forced or pressured into underage marriage – or other members of the community who wish to report underage illegal marriages – should call the NSW 24-hour Child Protection Hotline. By calling 132111, members of the public can make a report to a caseworker, via an interpreter, if necessary.

Pru Goward is the Minister for Planning, the Minister for Women, and the Member for Goulburn in the NSW Parliament.