Best Practice to Combat Forced Marriage

Exchanging Knowledge, Building Relationships

ACRATH joined three other Australian organisations for a forced marriage fact finding mission and information exchange to Jakarta recently. A focus of the two-day event was how to reduce child and forced marriage in Indonesia and Australia. Participants also explored many of the cultural and religious practices driving forced marriage.

The April event organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Indonesia comprised a Seminar and Field Trip – Exchanging Knowledge, Building Relationships: Indonesian and Australian Perspectives on Reducing Child and Forced Marriage.

ACRATH’s forced marriage worker, Liz Payne, joined representatives from the Attorney-General’s Department -Transnational Crime Branch, Anti-Slavery Australia and Red Cross for the seminar at the Australian Ambassador’s residence.

“Indonesian Law states that the practice of child/forced marriage can no longer take place and Australia’s legislation of 2013 outlawed this practice, but it is still happening and in large numbers in Indonesia. The seminar was an opportunity for Indonesia and Australia to share best practice in prevention and to examine ways forward,” Liz said.