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The global scandal of 400 million child brides

By Terri Kelleher - posted Tuesday, 10 June 2014


Many factors perpetuate child marriage.

Particularly in developing countries, child marriage is often a traditional practice going back centuries.

In many communities where child marriage is practised, girls are not valued as much as boys - they are seen as a social or economic burden.

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Where poverty is acute, giving a daughter in marriage allows parents to reduce family expenses by ensuring they have one less person to feed, clothe and educate. In communities where a dowry or "bride price" is paid, it is often welcome income for poor families.

Often, many parents marry off their daughters out of concern for their safety in areas where girls are at high risk of physical or sexual assault.

As well as the sheer numbers of them there is another deeply troubling aspect of child marriages that needs to be exposed. The London-based Anti-Slavery International says that, in the child-marriage debate, the links to slavery have been largely absent.

It says that "many married children can experience levels of suffering, coercion and control that meet international legal definitions of slavery and slavery-like practices, including servile marriage, child servitude, child trafficking and forced labour".

It continues: "A potentially high proportion of child marriage cases appear to constitute worst forms of child labour."

In Australia, more than 3,000 under-aged teens are married or in de facto marriages across the nation, according to the 2011 census. According to The Australian, "The majority of 15-to-17 year-olds married or in a de facto marriage were born in Australia.

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"Of those who identified as married, 57% identified as Christian and 6% were Muslim. About 30% did not state their religion or identified as no religion."7

The census revealed under-age marriage was prevalent in several indigenous communities.

The Australiansaid that eight of the top 10 locations for under-age marriage had major indigenous communities - the Northern Territory's West Arnhem, Barkly, MacDonnell, Roper Gulf, East Arnhem, Central Desert and Victoria Daly Shires, and South Australia's Anangu Pitjantjatjara local government area.

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About the Author

Terri Kelleher is National President of the Australian Family Association.

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Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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