The Statutes Amendment (Child Marriage) Bill 2015 (SA) intended to increase protection for children who are at risk of forced marriage. The Bill would amend the existing Children’s Protection Act 1993 (SA) and the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA).
Anti-Slavery Australia makes the following recommendations:
- Define a child as a person below the age of 18 in all relevant sections of the Bill.
- Include a rebuttable presumption to the proposed section 33C of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA), such that a marriage which has taken place within Australia of a person below the age of 18 will be considered as a child marriage except where that marriage has been authorised by a court order.
- Include a comprehensive definition of marriage in all relevant sections of the Bill, recognising the existence of legal, non-legal, religious, and cultural marriage ceremonies.
- Include a provision in the Bill that a protection order may be made if the court has reasonable grounds to suspect that a child may be at risk of going through the form or ceremony of a marriage.
- Include a provision in the Bill that it is an offence to arrange or bring a child into the State for the purpose of marriage.
- Include a provision in the Bill that it is an offence to arrange or cause a child to enter into a marriage within the State, whether that marriage is legally valid or not.
- Include an amendment to the Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009 (SA) for there to be a provision that forced marriage should be a recognised type of abuse under which an intervention order can be made.
- Include an amendment to the Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009 (SA) for there to be a provision that an order may be made for a protected person to voluntarily surrender their passport to the court as a means of protection.
Anti-Slavery Australia Submission on the Statutes Amendment (Child Marriage) Bill 2015 (2015)