Child brides given away at just nine: ‘Tsunami’ of young girls forced into marriage
NINE-year-olds are part of a “tsunami” of Sydney kids being taken overseas and forced to become child brides in an epidemic
The Daily Telegraph can reveal at least 73 cases have been reported to the government-run child protection helpline since July 2014. The majority of tip-offs have come from worried school principals, teachers and counsellors.
There are multiple cases of children who are being sent to countries such as Afghanistan, Lebanon and Pakistan during school holidays where they are married off to older men.
Family and Community Services Minister Brad Hazzard described the practice as “barbaric and cruel”. He has called on the federal government to establish emergency housing immediately. Mr Hazzard also wants religious imams to educate their local communities to “recognise that forced marriage is completely unacceptable”.
They should talk to their communities and make sure they understand it’s completely unacceptable and criminal,” he said. “One youth home service — which has children from interstate, overseas and a number of children from Sydney — says this practice is rife.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...e/news-story/91e9d75817609d3aa9e93d182fc92b38
