Disturbing reality of child marriage in Australia revealed
More than 50 girls as young as nine are being forced to marry older men in Australia, in exclusive documents obtained by 7 News.
Australian Federal Police documents can reveal the disturbing reality of child brides in Australia.
In just two years 57 children were reported at risk of being forced into marriage – all within the Sydney area.
Two children on the mid-north coast, two in the Murrumbidgee area, one in the Hunter and another in Illawarra were at risk, according to the documents.
Another document references an email with a girl saying she is being held against her will while a situation report details allegations of a forced marriage at the end of the school year and a human trafficking referral mentions a girl travelled out of Australia and was exploited.
Unfortunately, it’s at the airport where the trail runs cold for investigators when Australian girls are taken overseas and forced to marry.
Two young sisters from Liverpool were taken overseas and forced into marriage.
Family and Community Services told 7 News all they could do was wait for the children to come back through immigration.
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Family and Human Services Minister Pru Goward said children were under “enormous pressure” from their parents.
She’s urged friends and family to come forward and tell children they don’t have to marry.
"Because people do know, it's that they choose to turn the other cheek, we will end up with a continuation of forced marriages,” she said.
