Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On 11 October, we marked the International Day of the Girl Child. It is a day to advocate for girls and young women around the world, particularly in regard to access to education, medical care, legal rights, and protection from discrimination and gender based violence. In 2019, the theme for the day is 'Girlforce: Unscripted and Unstoppable', celebrating significant progress in the rights of women and girls since the United Nations Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted almost 25 years ago. This visionary blueprint has allowed for global and local mobilisation for the rights of girls and young women. As a result, more girls have access to education and reproductive health rights, and there are fewer child marriages.

While this progress is a great cause for celebration, girls across the globe are unfortunately still facing significant disadvantages. In developing countries, girls are often denied basic rights as a result of sex and gender based discrimination. The International Day of the Girl Child aims to draw attention to preventing child marriage. It is estimated by World Vision that 700 million women are married before they are adults and one-third of those are married before the age of 15. The experience of child marriage is often linked with domestic and sexual abuse and often leads to girls becoming mothers while still children.

One of the key ways to address such inequality is through education. However, 130 million girls around the world have never even set foot in a classroom. Of these, 15 million young women will never learn to read or write. Many girls will never complete their education or are more likely to drop out of school than their male counterparts. Again, this is often due to sex and gender based discrimination which is prevalent across many cultures and countries. Education is crucial to breaking this intergenerational cycle of inequality as it offers the possibility of employment and financial independence. Girls who have received secondary schooling are six times less likely to become child brides, and educated mothers are twice as likely to send their children to school. While girls in Australia enjoy many freedoms that have been hard fought for, we still have to encourage girls to combat the social challenges they face in our society.

The Morrison government has made the largest-ever Commonwealth investment of $328 million for combatting violence against women and children. It is why our government is legislating for tougher sentences for child-sex offenders. All children should be safe online and offline, and we need to address the ways that girls can be vulnerable to violence and sexual exploitation.

Another area I am passionate about is the role that sport can play in the lives of young girls. This is an arena where girls and young women continue to exceed the expectations of all Australians, and we are so proud of the strides being made by girls across all levels of sport. The coalition has provided $150 million to support the development of female change-room facilities at sporting grounds and community swimming facilities across Australia. My electorate of Reid has been fortunate to have a number of sporting amenity upgrades so that the increasing number of girls playing sport can be provided for. And, of course, girls are increasingly proving to be valuable leaders in all aspects of Australian life. As a mother of two daughters, I hope that their desire to lead with conviction on matters that they are passionate about is never curbed by gender and sex based stereotypes.

We know that young girls can be incredible forces of dynamic empowerment. Around the world, adolescent girls are leading movements for change. As a government, we will continue to support their efforts, whether it is through our international commitments or through supporting the grassroots work of girls in our own communities.

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