Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1694854633599.pdf (Australia)
Submission 84 Response to Inquiry into the human rights issues confronting women and girls in the Indian Ocean – Asia Pacific region Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade From Shakti Community Council 11th December 2014   Human rights issues confronting women and girls in the Indian Ocean – Asia Pacific regionSubmission 84 Family and Sexual Violence in African, Asian and Middle Eastern Communities Gender‐based violence such as family and sexual violence pose significant barriers to the well‐ being of women and girls in the Indian Ocean and Asia Pacific region.
In particular there are certain culturally‐sanctioned abuses specific to those from Asian, African and Middle Eastern backgrounds.

Unfortunately these practices continue to persist despite people migrating from their country of origin.
Such forms of violence include:  Dowry abuse  Under‐age and forced marriage  Female Genital Mutilation  Honour‐based violence These forms of abuse are particularly problematic as they are often characterised in immigrant communities as a cultural practice rather than a human rights abuse, leaving many sufferers as silent victims.

Therefore the true extent of victimisation in New Zealand and Australia is unknown.

Those who do want to seek help face a number of barriers.
For instance there is a severe lack of cultural awareness by the mainstream justice sector and social service agencies as well as a lack of effective state recognition of these issues.

Secondly women from these ethnically and linguistically diverse communities face threats of social stigma ostracisation if they speak out about these issues.
For women and girls that have been sponsored into Australia by their husband/abusers, they suffer threats of deportation should they seek to escape their abusive situations.

As these victims often originate from shame‐based cultures, the dishonour brought to the family as a result of leaving such marriages can be fatal.

Forced and Under‐age Marriage Underage marriage involves the marrying of children (often girls) under the legal age.
It is difficult to pin‐point where the practice originated, however research suggests that many cultures across the world have practiced it historically (Radhakrishnan, 2012).

Today it is occurs predominantly in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

However, it is more prevalent in India where approximately one third of all under‐age marriages occur.

It is important to note that some countries such as Saudi Arabia countries do not have age restrictions on marriage.
Another example is Yemen, where the age restriction to marriage was abolished in 1999.

For many under‐age brides, consummation of marriage is set at onset of puberty, which is interpreted by some to be as early as 9.

Ultimately, with no restriction being placed on marriage age, this constitutes culturally and legally sanctioned paedophilia.

Forced marriage is a marriage without free consent.
Although it has been practiced across history, culture and socio‐economic levels, it is most prevalent today amongst those from Asian, Human rights issues confronting women and girls in the Indian Ocean – Asia Pacific regionSubmission 84 African and Middle Eastern cultural backgrounds.

As it is highly communal in nature it is strongly tied to “family honour”.

Consequently it is used as power and control tool as the control of a woman’s sexuality is tied to the family honour.
The achievements to date in advancing women and girl’s human rights in this area Currently in Australia, the marriageable age is 18 years, in exceptional circumstances and with court approval, it can be 16 years of age (Attorney‐General’s; Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), 2013).
One of the grounds on which an Australian marriage can be declared void is if consent was obtained when the person was under pressure, misinformed, or lacked the intellectual capacity to understand that they are being married.

Marriage celebrants have a legal obligation to be registered under the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants.
Despite these rules and regulations; there have still been cases of forced marriage in Australia, which warranted a specific legislation that criminalised forced marriage in 2013.

This legislation came about under a widespread amended legislation of slavery, slavery‐like conditions and human trafficking (Biddington & Barker, 2012, p. 3).
The implications of forced and under‐age marriage on economic and social development in the Indian Ocean ‐ Asia Pacific region; There are serious physical and psychological ramifications for women who are forced into a marriage.

These include increased likelihood of experiencing sexual abuse in the form of female genital mutilation, marital rape, early pregnancy, unwanted pregnancy, miscarriage, forced child birth or abortion and sexually transmitted diseases (Felz et al., 2009, p. 80; GSANZ, 2011b, p. 9).
Psychological consequences include increased risk of experiencing anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders and other types of mental illness as a result of emotional abuse and threats (AGD CrJD, 2010, p. 5).

In the case of forced child marriages, it is common for a sexually inexperienced younger girl to be married to an older sexually experienced man (AGD CrJD, 2010, p. 5).

This puts the girl in an extremely vulnerable position.
Lack in sexual education and knowledge about reproductive health, access to contraception and ability to negotiate safe sex can lead to adverse consequences for the girl’s physical health and emotional well‐being (AGD CrJD, 2010, p. 5).
Additionally, to these physiological factors, forced marriage can also have an negative economic impact, which includes theft of passport, money or belongings and the interruption or termination of education, which leads to reduced career opportunities and increases economic dependence to the husband and/or family (AGD CrJD, 2010, p. 4; Stobart, 2009, p.13).
Other criminal acts committed in relation to forced marriage include unlawful imprisonment, restriction of freedom of movement and association, abduction, kidnapping and human Human rights issues confronting women and girls in the Indian Ocean – Asia Pacific regionSubmission 84 trafficking (AGD CrJD, 2010, p. 4).
The highest risks of forced marriage are the victim’s likelihood of physical injury, mutilation, disability and death as a result of murder by her partner / partner’s family/own family (Felz et al., 2009, p. 36).

It is common for victims of forced marriage to be isolated from their families and friends as their daily activities are constantly monitored by their spouse and/or in‐laws.
Furthermore, if a victim tries to leave her marriage or threatens to leave a forced marriage, she often faces isolation, social ostracism or disownment by her family (AGD CrJD, 2010, p. 5; InTouch Inc & Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence, 2010, p. 16).

The effectiveness of Australian programs to support efforts to improve the human rights of women and girls in the Indian Ocean ‐ Asia Pacific region.
Unfortunately, forced marriage may go unnoticed in cases where the person conducting the marriage ceremony is not registered and/or is unlawfully conducting a cultural marriage, which is deemed legitimate by the witnesses of the bride and groom (Migrant Resource Centre, 2011 cited in GSANZ, 2011a).

Current law does not allow unmarried/de‐facto relationships the same family violence exceptions as married couples have (Legal Aid NSW, 2011, p. 3).
Thus, a cultural marriage is void of any legal responsibility by the Australian Marriage law Act prohibiting forced marriage.

Nevertheless, there are a few cases that have receive media attention.

Existing organisations in Australia do not raise awareness for CALD issues to the extent that Shakti does in New Zealand.
The current framework on violence in CALD communities is incorporated into the already existing Western framework for domestic violence, which is ‘culture neutral’ (InTouch Inc & Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence, 2010).

These organisations mention barriers for CALD survivors to engage with the police, legal and social services, due to language barriers and cultural stigma.
However, there is limited awareness of the occurrences of forced marriage, dowry abuse or other cultural practices that may not be familiar to Western professionals in the domestic violence sector.

Even though existing organisations have come far in their support for CALD communities.

How can the current gaps in the Australian system be addressed?
Shakti’s aim is to improve services to CALD communities by filling in the current gaps in knowledge and expertise that other organisations have not yet provided.

Even though the police today has a much better understanding of domestic violence than in previous times; officers need to be trained more thoroughly on CALD issues such as forced marriage so that more cases become detected rather than getting lost in the system.
Human rights issues confronting women and girls in the Indian Ocean – Asia Pacific regionSubmission 84 The current gaps in knowledge about providing specialised services for migrant and refugee women from Asia, Africa and the Middle East can be addressed by developing a specialised service delivery programme.
This can be achieved by leveraging on the knowledge of Shakti Women’s council Inc. to enable Shakti’s sister organisations Shakti Migrant & Refugee Women's Support Group Melbourne Inc. and Shakti Migrant & Refugee Women’s Support Group NSW to deliver specialised culturally competent services.

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Human rights issues confronting women and girls in the Indian Ocean – Asia Pacific regionSubmission 84