Session 01.2 Child Marriage – An International Perspective
Tracks
Track 2: Room LG18
| Monday, July 28, 2025 |
| 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM |
| LG18 - The David Li Kwok Po Lecture Theatre |
Overview
Panel Session
Chair: The Honourable Justice Liz Boyle
Panellists:
Judicial Decision Making
- The Hon. Suzanne Christie, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Division 1
Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) in Southeast Asia: When harmful practices become an international crime
- Leisha Lister, International Legal Development Consultant, Australia
Child and forced marriage and the age of consent with an international focus (comparison between American and UK laws)
- Shabina Begum, Goodman Ray Solicitors, UK
Details
Child marriage, defined as any marriage where at least one party is under 18 years old, is considered a form of forced marriage due to a child's inability to provide full, free, and informed consent. It is a global problem that cuts across countries, cultures, and religions. An estimated 22 million people were living in a forced marriage on any given day in 2021, an increase of 6.6 million since the 2016 global estimates. Girls are the primary, but not exclusive, victims. Both child and forced marriages satisfy key elements of human trafficking definitions, including the exploitation of victims and deprivation of personal freedom. While not every forced marriage involves trafficking in persons, there is an important overlap. Studies suggest that certain features of a marriage arrangement can heighten the risk of children being trafficked for the purpose of forced marriage or being trafficked within a forced marriage: dowry practices, bride price, sham or fraudulent marriage practices used to facilitate irregular migration can lead to exploitation, including trafficking, and girls brought to other countries through marriage often become isolated and dependent on their spouse, increasing the risk of abuse and exploitation, including trafficking. For the world to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal to eliminate child and forced marriage by 2030 efforts need to be significantly bolstered.
This Panel will explore the complex relationships between child marriage, forced marriage, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking and how identifying and responding to CEFM poses significant challenges for governments, law enforcement, criminal justice sector, and victim protection and support services.
This Panel will explore the complex relationships between child marriage, forced marriage, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking and how identifying and responding to CEFM poses significant challenges for governments, law enforcement, criminal justice sector, and victim protection and support services.
Speaker
Justice Liz Boyle
Judge of FCFCOA Australia
FCFCOA
Chair: Child Marriage – An International Perspective
Biography
Justice Suzanne Christie
Judge
Federal Circuit And Family Court Of Australia Division 1
Judicial Decision Making
Abstract
Research conducted as part of the 20-year Court to Court Cooperation between the Supreme Court of Indonesia and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, identified that, notwithstanding the legislative changes to raise the age of marriage to 19 in Indonesia, data shows the marriage law reform outcomes are not consistent with the statutory intention. Justice Christie will discuss the need to place children at the centre of the decision making process involving applications for dispensation to marry under 19 so that their individual needs and rights determine the outcome. It will explore the interaction between social science data and decision making, the role of expert evidence, the challenges of making unpopular decisions and the development of tools to empower the judiciary to act protectively towards children when applications for dispensation of child and early marriage are presented to the courts in Indonesia.
Biography
Admitted to practice as a Barrister in 2004 and appointed Senior Counsel in 2018, the Hon. Justice Christie came to the bench with a background in family law, and related matters in both State and Federal Courts, including in adoption and Appellate advocacy. Justice Christie was until recently one of the authors of Lexis Nexis Annotated Family Law Legislation and was the contributing author to the Financial Agreements chapter in Halsbury’s Laws of Australia.
Her Honour has regularly lectured for the profession and as a guest at various universities. Prior to coming to the bench Justice Christie contributed to numerous conferences and law journals and hopes to continue. She is a member of the Court’s International Committee and has a special interest in the collaborative work with the Supreme Court of Indonesia. She is also a member of the Court’s Children’s Committee and the working group on Interpreter policy.
Ms Leisha Lister
International Legal Development Consultant
Gender, Law & Justice
Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) in Southeast Asia: When harmful practices become an international crime
Abstract
Forced marriage remains a persistent and harmful practice that disproportionately affects children, particularly girls, in many regions worldwide. These unions frequently occur among ethnic minority populations and in communities where children are expected to obey parental decisions regarding marriage, even against their own wishes. The practice violates fundamental human rights and perpetuates gender inequality. This presentation will focus on the key aspects of forced marriage and its links to trafficking in persons and consider the identification, prevalence, prevention, and intervention of this transnational crime.
Biography
Leisha is the Senior Legal Advisor with the ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking program, an Advisor to the Indonesia-Australia Partnership for Justice, and a law and justice specialist working with UNICEF to develop legal frameworks and justice systems that comply with international standards.
Leisha spent 17 years as the Executive Adviser to the Family Court of Australia where she managed and coordinated the development of policy, research and significant projects focussed on access to justice. Leisha also managed the Court’s international cooperation programmes in Asia and the Pacific working to strengthen justice institutions to uphold the rule of law and to improve access to justice for vulnerable groups.
Leisha’s specialty is capacity development in the areas of ending violence against women and children, prevention of child marriage, counter trafficking, victim sensitive courts, child-friendly court processes, diversion and restorative justice.
Ms Shabina Begum
Partner
Goodman Ray Solicitors
Child and forced marriage and the age of consent with an international focus (comparison between American and UK laws)
Abstract
According to the UN “[c]hild marriage is a human rights violation. Despite laws against it, the practice remains widespread: Globally, one in every five girls is formally married or in an informal union, before reaching age 18” Whilst this is a practice which occurs for both boys and girls, the stark reality is that girls are disproportionately the most affected.” It is reported by Girls not Bride that each year, 12 million girls are married before the age of 18. According to the World Health Organization child marriage has a host of negative impacts, “it often compromises a girl’s development by resulting in early pregnancy and social isolation, interrupting her schooling, limiting her opportunities for career and vocational advancement and placing her at increased risk of domestic violence.”8
The USA does not currently have child and/or forced marriage legislation and some states do not have a minimum age of marriage. The UK however does have forced marriage specific legislation and in 2023 the minimum age of marriage was raised to 18 by virtue of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022. This paper will compare the varying legal landscapes between the US and the UK. There will also be a discussion of the specific benefits of forced and child marriage legislation, which will be useful for any jurisdiction thinking about implementing child and forced marriage specific legislation.
The USA does not currently have child and/or forced marriage legislation and some states do not have a minimum age of marriage. The UK however does have forced marriage specific legislation and in 2023 the minimum age of marriage was raised to 18 by virtue of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022. This paper will compare the varying legal landscapes between the US and the UK. There will also be a discussion of the specific benefits of forced and child marriage legislation, which will be useful for any jurisdiction thinking about implementing child and forced marriage specific legislation.
Biography
Shabina is a partner in the International Child Care department, who specialises in international child abduction from both Hague and Non-Hague signatory contracting States, forced marriage, child marriage, female genital mutilation, transnational abandonment, domestic abuse and gender based violence. She is a UN recognised expert of child, early and forced marriages in the UK. She was part of the pro – bono legal team who drafted the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022. She is a Resolution accredited Specialist in Child Abduction & Forced Marriage and Honour-based Violence. Shabina has been recognised by The Law Society as a Legal Hero in 2023. She won the Women of the Future Awards 2020 in the business category. She is also featured in Management Today’s “35 Women Under 35, 2020 ” List of Britain’s Brightest Young Business Leaders. She is described as an “exceptional lawyer” and a “pioneer in her field“.
