Page 3400 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 21 October 2014
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education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care and protection from discrimination, violence and child marriage. Around the world, a third of all women aged between 20 and 24 were married before the age of 18. A third of these women were married before the age of 15. This, of course, is in stark contrast to the average marrying age of women in Australia. Where girls undertake secondary education, their chances of marrying as a child are six times less likely.
While this is just one day in the year to raise awareness of these issues, girls around the world face the challenges associated with poverty, discrimination, poor access to health and education daily. On the International Day of the Girl Child, UNICEF and other UN agencies called for governments and the international community to take urgent action to end child marriage, including legislating against child marriage and providing support to ensure married girls can access good-quality education and health services.
Just one of the many organisations that work here in the ACT to promote the rights of women and girls is UN Women Australia, and you can find out more about them at unwomen.org.au. I call on everyone to reflect on the inequitable circumstances faced by girls around the globe and ensure we are always working towards a world where violence against women and girls is not tolerated.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
The Assembly adjourned at 4.42 pm.
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